REFLECTIONS OF A PAST NANN AWARD RECIPIENT
A perennial highlight of the NANN Annual Educational Conference is the awards given to the many amazing nurses and nurse practitioners who exemplify NANN's mission to shape neonatal nursing through excellence in practice, education, research, and professional development.
The 2015 NANN and NANNP Awards Program will recognize nominees in Leadership, the Navigator Award, the Robyn Main Excellence in Clinical Practice Award, the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Excellence Award, Distinguished Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Research Abstract, Clinical Abstract, and Small Grant Awards, as well as the Chapter of the Year and Individual Chapter Project Awards. The winners of these awards will be in the company of outstanding professionals who preceded them.
Carol Wallman, DNP, MS, NNP, winner of the 2006 NANN Distinguished Service Award and the 2013 NANN Clinical Abstract Award, as well as the 2014 NANN Research Abstract Award, is among these outstanding professionals.
When asked about the impact of these awards-specifically, the Research and Clinical Abstract Awards-on her professionally, Carol shared "completing a research project had always seemed overwhelming and elusive to me. Through the completion of my project and subsequent award I gained the needed confidence to pursue other research opportunities." Always a supporter of NANN products and programs, it was fitting that Carol's research supported the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner's (NANNP) Competencies and Orientation Toolkit for NNPs recommendation for ongoing procedural review and evaluation. The research, Carol stated, "supported the effectiveness of online review when compared with textbook review. This is helpful information as we as a society and a profession transition to an increased amount of online education for both continuing education and university programs."
Reflecting on how NANN and NANNP have supported her career, research, and educational goals, Carol shares a summary of her journey:
NANN was a huge support to me in my early career as a staff nurse, particularly the journal and educational conferences. As I advanced in my career I began to volunteer for various committees and task forces for NANN. This led to my appointment as the liaison to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn (AAP/COFN) and subsequently serving the membership through a position on the NANN Board of Directors for 4 years. As the liaison to the AAP/COFN I had the opportunity to be part of the team responsible for defining and publishing guidelines for the late preterm infant. This has had a huge impact on neonatal care across the nation and internationally. It has been a huge honor to play a role in this work and watch the developing body of evidence to provide the best care to this unique population.
As NANNP developed and grew they helped support me in my professional role as a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) educator by providing helpful tools and resources such as the Competencies and Orientation Toolkit for NNPs. We used this as a guide for developing our new graduate NNP residency program at my place of employment. I also used this as a resource and inspiration for my doctorate of nursing practice capstone project for which I received the 2014 Research Abstract Award. Throughout my career, NANN and NANNP have served as wonderful resources for current practice issues and guidelines, but even more than that it has provided me with inspirational role models, friends, and colleagues. NANN and NANNP have been integral to my ongoing passion for my career!
Recognizing the achievements of members such as Dr Carol Wallman is one of the many ways NANN and NANNP live their mission. Please join us at the NANN 31st Annual Educational Conference in Dallas, Texas, October 22 to 25, 2015, as we welcome the newly awarded NANN members to this esteemed group of previous winners.
NEW CNENow! MODULES
NANN is pleased to announce the launch of 2 new CNENow! modules on human milk. CNENow! is a series of online peer-reviewed educational modules developed to strengthen the user's knowledge in essential areas of neonatal nursing. The modules are free for NANN members and available to nonmembers for $15 per module. Each module offers 1 CNE contact hour upon completion.
The Management of Human Milk in the NICU
Heather Goodall, MSN, RNC-NIC, IBCLC, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach, California; Sandra Sundquist Beauman, MSN, RNC-NIC, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss specific evidence-based recommendations for the storage and handling of human milk-both mother's own milk and pasteurized donor milk.
2. Identify effects on human milk when processed through freezing and heating, including pasteurization.
3. Consider the effects of clinical warming of milk feedings.
4. Discuss best practices to ensure the correct mother's milk is provided to the correct infant.
5. Describe the risks of giving the wrong milk to wrong infant.
6. Review recommendations to prevent tubing misconnections.
Improving Outcomes With Colostrum and Human Milk-Evidence to Guide Practice
Lori Jean Wood, MSN, CNS, RNC-NIC, IBCLC, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, California
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the protective components of colostrum.
2. Verbalize the role of colostrum in initiating both passive and active immunity in the neonate.
3. Understand the role of oligosaccharides and commensal bacteria.
4. Discuss the detrimental effects of formula and the dose-response relationship of the amount of breast milk received in relation to the benefits gained.
5. Verbalize the application of the evidence-based research supporting the use of human milk as a best practice into clinical practice.
Both modules are supported in part by NeoMed, Inc.
CNENow! is a quick and convenient way to earn your CNE contact hours! Purchase now at http://www.nannstore.org.