Newswise — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will present filmmakers Carolyn Jones and Kathy Douglas, RN, MHA, with its AACN Pioneering Spirit Award.

This AACN Visionary Leader Award recognizes significant contributions that influence high-acuity and critical care nursing and relate to the association’s mission, vision and values. The presentation will occur during the 2017 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI), Houston, May 22-25.

The recipients are directors of two insightful documentaries about nurses, one offering an insider’s viewpoint, while the other presents an outsider-looking-in perspective. Both films showcase the valuable and varied contributions of nurses to patient care and the healthcare system.

Douglas, a former critical care nurse, is Chief Clinical Officer at ShiftHound, which is now part of ABILITY Network, a leading healthcare information technology company. She is also co-founder of the film production company Wise Women Circles.

She is being recognized for her conceptual and directorial work on the documentary “NURSES, If Florence Could See Us Now,” released in 2013. Attendees at NTI that year were treated to a special screening of the film as part of its national debut.

More than 120 nurses across the United States were interviewed for “NURSES,” providing a close-up look at the profession and incorporating the many different roles nurses play and the lives they touch. There was no advance scripting or prepping for the documentary. Douglas used the film to pay homage to her lifelong profession by telling nurses’ stories through their own voices, simply interviewing nurses with a camera to capture authentic, candid conversations.

Jones is being honored for her award-winning book “The American Nurse: Photographs and Interviews by Carolyn Jones” and follow-up documentary film, released in 2014. For the project, she spent five years interviewing over 100 nurses from across the United States in an effort to better understand the role of nurses in the U.S. healthcare system.

Nurses who watch “The American Nurse,” in theaters or online, are able to get continuing education hours through a partnership with Nurse.com, and a portion of all proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for nurse education through the American Nurses Foundation.

 

About the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award: The annual AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence high-acuity and critical care nursing regionally and nationally, and relate to AACN’s mission, vision and values. Recipients of this Visionary Leadership Award come from business, academia and healthcare, and receive a plaque and $1,000 honorarium at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition. Other Visionary Leadership awards, AACN’s highest honor, include AACN’s Lifetime Member Award, Honorary Member Award and the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career.

About the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition: Established in 1974, AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI) represents the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners attend NTI.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents the interests of more than half a million acute and critical care nurses and has more than 200 chapters throughout the United States. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-4109;  949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme

 

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