The UVAHS Professional Nursing Staff Organization

Nursing Recognition Opportunities

Recognition strengthens nurse retention, and recognition of nurses is a key component of the culture of excellence at UVAHS. Direct care nurses find many ways to celebrate and honor their colleagues, their achievements and their specialty practices and to acknowledge the contributions that nurses make every day to patient and health care to the community.

Annual Nursing Excellence Awards

The PNSO presents 7 awards throughout the year honoring different aspects of excellence in the nursing role. The awards are:  Excellence in Caring; Beginning Practitioner of the Year; Excellence in Nursing Research;  Preceptor of the Year; Nurse of Distinction;  Excellence in Clinical Practice; Distinguished Nurse Manager. The process is based on peer nominations and supportive evidence provided; recipients receive a personal commemorative award, a framed certificate of achievement, and a letter of appreciation and $500 educational support from the Chief Nursing Officer.

Click for more information about the nomination process, and past recipients. 

The PNSO Awards Committee, comprised of direct care nurses and nurse leaders, plans and coordinates PNSO recognition activities. Awards Committee goals include:

  • Increase positive perception of public recognition and acknowledgement of nursing.
  • Planning and facilitating the major recurring recognition activities of the PNSO, including the selection process for the annual Nursing Excellence Awards.
  • Build upon current recognition programs and seek appropriate resources to support and grow future PNSO recognition events.

Week of the Nurse Celebrations

The PNSO's Week of the Nurse Planning Committee arranges a broad spectrum of events to celebrate all that UVA nurses mean to each other, to our Health System's mission, and to our community. In addition to the centralized events sponsored by the PNSO, many local practice areas also take pride in sponsoring their own celebrations to honor nursing contributions. Learn more about the PNSO's Week of the Nurse celebrations. 

Recognizing our Interdisciplinary Partners

National Observances: The PNSO shares special recognition in our Lobby display cases for our interdisciplinary colleagues during their day/week of national observance. Large-scale events in June and August are also held in honor of the special partnerships RNs hold with Certified Nursing Assistants and Health Unit Coordinators. 

Annual "Day of Gratitude": Each year at UVA, we launch the Week of the Nurse by recognizing - not nurses - but the supportive partnership of our interdisciplinary colleagues; we achieve patient care excellence through the quality of our teamwork. In past years, the Nursing Cabinet would select a department or discipline that had been a special partner in patient care during the past year, as the "It Takes A Team" award recipient. In 2009, we expanded this to a new tradition,  "A Day of Gratitude" in which compliments collected from nurses are shared with the entire spectrum of interdisciplinary colleagues across UVAHS. Teams of nurses deliver personalized scrapbooks of compliments, along with balloons and treats, expressing their appreciation for these vital interrelated partners in caregiving.

Recognition Anytime

Orange RN Identification Tags: All RN staff wear with their nametag a bright-colored hang tag bearing the symbol ‘RN' visible below the main identification badge.  Supported by Nursing Cabinet and UVAHS Administration, this initiative both promotes patient safety and satisfaction, and provides visible recognition for each UVA RN's important role as caregivers. Click here for more information.  

Commend a Colleague: Health System staff are encouraged to recognize each other's contributions anytime, and to assist patients & families who wish to commend a special caregiver. These opportunities include: