Nursing Students Nominated for Nursing Leadership Award

Three Nova Southeastern University nursing students were among 17 nominees for the 2007 South Florida Organization Nurse Executives’ Leadership Award. The accolade was presented Dec. 11 at the Westin Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale.

The NSU nominees were Barbara Fitzpatrick, a Holy Cross Hospital administrator who is pursuing her M.S.N. degree; Rebecca Kordsmeier, a Memorial Hospital West administrator who is pursuing her B.S.N. degree; and Jeanne Kos, a Holy Cross Hospital administrator who is pursing her M.S.N. degree.

Here’s some background on NSU’s nominees from the South Florida Organization Nurse Executives (SFONE):

Fitzpatrick: She is a kind and caring soul, who has developed rich and meaningful relationships with others. She provides expert leadership at Holy Cross, where she assures regulatory and quality standards are met.

Kordsmeier: She accentuates caring methods and is very productive with warmth and compassion. At Memorial Hospital West, she implemented “Safety Town”, which is a community project to teach children about safety measures they should use in their neighborhoods. She also developed career fairs for children, improved the skills of EMS personnel and improved communications between EMS and hospital staff.

Kos: She is a strong advocate for patients and her staff at Memorial Hospital West. She and her team go out of their way to get computers for their long-term patients and collect money and food for them. She is a part of a visionary leadership team that created a rapid response team in 2005. Recently, she worked with the Intensivits, who began responding with the critical care R.N.s

Diane Whitehead, R.N., M.S.N., Ed.D., associate dean of nursing, served as secretary for the SFONE from 2005 to 2007. She was the recipient of the Outstanding Leader Award from SFONE for 2006. Sally Weiss, R.N., M.S.N., Ed.D., associate chair and professor of nursing, currently serves as the Broward County representative to SFONE. Patricia Dittman R.N., M.S.N., Ph.D., CDE, assistant professor and graduate program director, currently serves on the Florida Board of Nursing and the National Council for State Boards of Nursing, Institute for Regulatory Excellence.

Kos, along with NSU nursing student Barbard Bruce, each received a $2,000 scholarship from SFONE.