Mary Adams exemplifies the principles of this award. In the clinical setting, Mary’s priority is always to provide safe and compassionate care to her patients. She demonstrates this consistently. Feedback from her students acknowledges that Mary consistently goes “above and beyond” to provide the best experience for patients while in the clinical setting. Most recently, I can recall a situation where Mary wanted to be sure the patient received the appropriate type of dressing change and follow up the next day by contacting the primary nurse on the unit.

In addition to being well respected by the hospital nursing staff and her students, the faculty also share a respect for Mary’s dedication and work ethic. This year, we had an extraordinary amount of new faculty. Realizing how important it was that the new faculty members get trained appropriately, Mary took the initiative to set up in-services for the new staff on the documentation expectations. This group of new per diem faculty was extremely grateful for the time Mary spent with them. Additionally, Mary continued to reach out to them throughout the semester in case they had any further questions.

Without a doubt, Mary always has the best interest of the nursing program at heart. As the chairperson of the Professional Development Committee, Mary and her team provided the faculty with the latest information regarding “Next Gen” during a recent meeting. Mary took the initiative to complete extensive research on this topic. She provided the faculty with the latest information for them to be well prepared to discuss this topic and apply these concepts to the theoretical component that each faculty is responsible for teaching.

Whenever anyone needs help with a lecture, something in the skills lab, or anything in the virtual environment, Mary is the first person to help. She is a true team player, and we are truly fortunate that she is a member of our team here at the school.