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Virtua Marlton Receives AMSN PRISM Award for Exemplary Practice

The 3 North Cardiopulmonary Unit at Virtua Marlton received the prestigious AMSN PRISM Award®, a relatively new honor recognizing exceptional nursing practice, leadership, and outcomes in hospital medical-surgical units across the country.

The award, which stands for “Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-Surg” is the first of its kind honoring medical-surgical nursing units in the United States. It is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB). The award is given to outstanding acute care/medical-surgical units or adult/pediatric units classified as medical-surgical.

“This award centers not only on nursing care but also care within the entire unit, including evidenced base care, the leadership of the unit, and exemplary practice,” said Richard P. Miller, President and CEO of Virtua. “It is a validation of the overall consistency of Virtua’s commitment to excellence.”

Officials representing AMSN and MSNCB presented the 3 North Cardio Unit with the AMSN PRISM Award plaque during a ceremony October 18, 2016 at Virtua Marlton. The achievement of this award will also be announced at the AMSN Annual Convention, on the AMSN and MSNCB websites and social media sites, and in AMSN and MSNCB publications.

“The 3 North Cardiopulmonary Unit has become a benchmark of exemplary practice,” said John Matsinger, DO, MBA, EVP and Chief Clinical Officer at Virtua.  “This award clearly demonstrates the pride that the team has in their profession as well as their patients and their families.”

Hoping to inspire nurses to strive for the highest levels of patient safety and quality, AMSN and MSNCB launched the award in October 2012. The award also reflects the compassion, commitment, and connection that characterize medical-surgical nurses.

Specifically, the award celebrates units that exhibit:
  • Effective leadership
  • Recruitment and retention of competent staff members
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Positive patient outcomes
  • A healthy work environment
  • Lifelong learning of unit staff members

There are more than 600,000 medical-surgical nurses practicing in the United States today, making them the single largest group of specialty nurses working in hospital settings, according to AMSN. Medical-surgical nurses oversee a broad spectrum of patient care responsibilities, another reason the acronym “PRISM” was chosen for the award.

The 3 North Cardiopulmonary Unit at Virtua Marlton is only the 14th unit in the nation and the third unit in New Jersey to be recognized. It is Virtua’s second unit to receive this award. Earlier this year, the 4A Acute Pulmonary Care Unit at Virtua Voorhees also received the honor. 

 

October 25, 2016