Medical Center of McKinney celebrated Certified Nurses Day on Tuesday, March 15thby honoring its 92 board certified nurses for their professionalism, leadership, and commitment to excellence in patient care. Nurses honored included:
Cassidi Roberts, Nursing Administration; Elizabeth Jacobs, Eunice Ontita, Carlene Headley-Obansa, Rodrigo Casenas, Michelle Craven, Anabelle Chan, Tinu George, and Marizza Olivares, Medical/Surgical ; Mark Lisonbee, Thomas Brewer, Sara Jaquay, Paul Shin, Mary Murphy, Orthopedic/Surgery/Trauma; ReneeFrancis, Bindu Devasia, Criselda Bashu, Junu Varghese, Meryline Gerone, Susan Thomas, Lee Harvey-McCord, Romel Abeleda, Carla Lewis, and Susan Oolamakal, Progressive Care Unit; Laura Keller, Justin Nickel, Emily Perez-Reyes, Ann Oparaeke, and Dustin Little, Intensive Care Unit; Ericka champion, Donna Free, Heather Gilbreath, Julia Bell, Peggy Bain, Sarah Congleton, and Sheryl McNeeley, Postpartum; Laura Nix, Thomas Lesnick, Kimberly Oberhelman, Adele Metters, Cheryl Youngblood, Rhoda Madamombe, and Linnea Johnson, Psychiatric Services; Amanda Johnson, Cindy Hoffman, Nursery; Elsie Akanno, Rachana Patel, Robin Turner, and Tammy Stroman, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Sara Lee and Maita Cruz, Rehab Services; AshleyLarsen, Christina Pareja, Isreal Obansa, Susan Points, Tammie Walter, Victoria Miller, Surgical Services; Amanda Faggart, Denise Price, Hilary Smith, Maria Palmer, Sarah Thetford, Shelly Morris, Sibi Joe, and RimmaPavlik, Women’s Services; Craig Turner, Jennifer Summers, and Brent Croom, Cardio/Vascular Lab; Jeanine Thompson and Anne Benard, Wound Care; Cynthia Welborn, and Mary Fallahian, Lactation Services; Myra Codoy, Joy Stucki, and Melinda Desquitado, Clinical Decision Unit; Lise Van Pelt, Troy Wroe, Misti Heckaman, Donald Morrow, Renee Smith, Emergency; Allison Butler, Bonnie Honigsfeld, Christian Cannaday, and Sandra Day, Administrative Support Services; Jean Biros, Debra Miller, and Kathleen Galt, Education; Gary Huey, Grow Your Own Instructor; Alisha Grubbs, John Summers, Lisa Kenner, Linda Linnig, Olivia Bussey, and Kathy Meador, Quality.
Board Certification of nurses plays an increasingly important role in the assurance of high standards of care for patients and their loved ones. Nursing, like health care in general, has become increasingly complex. While a registered nurse (RN) license provides entry to general nursing practice, the knowledge-intensive requirements of modern nursing require extensive education, as well as a strong personal commitment to excellence by the nurse.
Medical Center of McKinney encourages national board certification for all its nurses. Patients are encouraged to inquire whether there are certified nurses on staff when they visit a hospital or their primary care provider. There are many nursing certification specialties such as medical-surgical, pediatric, pain management, cardiac vascular, oncology, hospice, case management, emergency nursing, critical care and many others. Many nursing certification bodies exist to serve the full range of specialized nursing care offered in the contemporary health care system. National nurse-certifying bodies should be accredited by either the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) or the National Organization for Competence Assurance (NOCA), or both.