Nursing News

UAB Medicine Nurse Manager Natalie Fortson, RN, has been accepted into a prestigious leadership fellowship, the NurseTRUST Emerging Leaders Program, which is designed for nurses who are new to leadership roles.

UAB Hospital was designated as a Magnet organization in 2002, 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2019 by the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®.  This prestigious designation recognizes excellence in nursing services.  In February 2024, UAB Hospital is applying for re-designation.

Congratulations to the most recent winner: Caleb Giles, RN! What makes Caleb a DAISY winner? “Recently, Caleb and I walked to our cars together after work, as we usually do. Around 7:45 p.m., on our separate drives home in opposite directions on I-65, Caleb and I were in the middle of a deep and thoughtful conversation regarding how to improve the patient care and experience at UAB Hospital Emergency Department, when Caleb suddenly said, “Oh my goodness, they are doing CPR on the side of the interstate! I’ve got to help.” Without hesitation and full of concern for a random person in medical need, Caleb pulled to the side of the interstate and stated, “I’ll call you back.”  I said “ok,” hung up, and then called his wife so that she was aware of what was happening. Caleb is a true health care hero.”

Congratulations to the most recent winners: Adam Wilson, RN, and Taylor Turner, RN! What makes Adam and Taylor DAISY winners? “Adam Wilson, RN, and Taylor Turner, RN, are assistant nurse managers (ANMs) in the UAB Hospital Emergency Department. Traci Watkins, a call center operator, transferred a call to Adam from a distraught individual who was expressing suicidal and homicidal thoughts and said they planned to kill everyone in the home, including children. Adam and Taylor talked through the situation and remained on the phone with the caller for more than two hours, until help could arrive.

The American Association for Men in Nursing has recognized the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing as a 2023 Best School for Men in Nursing, the Birmingham at-Large Chapter of AAMN as the Best Chapter for 2023, and UAB Medicine as a 2023 Best Workplace for Men in Nursing.

After more than a year of providing wellness services to nurses at UAB Medicine, the focus of a $2.3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration is now turning toward University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing students, faculty and staff.

UAB Medicine’s Cardio-Pulmonary Critical Care (CPCC) Unit has received a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

October 18 is National Medical Assistants Day, which highlights the important work that certified medical assistants (CMAs) do in clinics and hospitals nationwide. Join UAB Medicine in recognizing the excellence of our own CMA staff and their crucial role in our mission to deliver the highest quality, most compassionate care possible.

Given the national shortage of nurses, one way a health system can build stability in its workforce is by fostering career growth among current staff. The UAB Medicine/Wallace State Community College (UAB/WSCC) Nursing Workforce Initiative (NWI) creates a pathway for full-time UAB Medicine employees to advance their career by earning a licensed practical nurse (LPN) certificate or associate degree in nursing (ADN), effective in 2023. Enrollment in the NWI has increased tenfold since it launched in 2022 as a scholarship program funded by UAB Medicine.

Dale Davis, RN, BSN, is having a full-circle moment. He retired in July 2023 after 29 years at UAB Medicine, but after just one week, Davis returned to work where his UAB career first began: in the UAB Emergency Department as a nurse.

Imagine choosing from among medicines and treatments that made bold claims about managing or curing serious conditions without knowing which could be taken seriously. If drugs and treatments were not studied and held to consistent standards, it would be up to patients to make a guess based on word of mouth, advertising messages, simple observations, and folk wisdom. Thanks to clinical trials, we don’t have to guess.

The Staging Transition for Every Patient (STEP) program helps teenagers with chronic and complex childhood medical conditions move to adult health care. Launched in 2020 in the Whitaker Clinic of UAB Hospital, the program has made major progress in caring for some of the state’s most vulnerable patients.