TAMC’s Craig presented state nursing award
PRESQUE ISLE — Vilma Craig, RN, manager of clinical education and clinical nurse informatics liaison at TAMC’s A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital, has spent the past 18 years accepting new challenges and focusing on the patient while working in various capacities, and now she has earned an award which recognizes her as a leader among her peers.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
RECEIVES AWARD — Donna DeBlois, left, Organization of Maine Nurse Executives president, and Lynn Turnbull, TAMC director of clinical education, hemodialysis and chaplaincy services, present the 2013 Emerging Nurse Leader award to Vilma Craig, right, TAMC manager of clinical education and clinical nurse informatics liaison.
Lynn F. Turnbull, RN, BSN, MHA, nominated Craig for a 2013 Emerging Nurse Leader award, and the Organization of Maine Nurse Executives (OMNE): Nursing Leaders of Maine presented her the award at their sixth annual meeting in October. The meeting, “Today’s Nurses, Tomorrow’s Leaders: Improving Care for Maine’s Elders,” was a two-day event in Freeport that attracted over 50 nurse leaders from across the state.
“I’ve known [Vilma] for as long as she’s worked here, and I’ve seen her grow tremendously,” said Turnbull. “She is a dedicated wife and a mother, and she is a nurse from the heart. Nursing is with her and it comes out in the things she does.”
In her nomination letter, Turnbull pointed out that Craig has earned the respect of many in the medical care field, saying, “Vilma would be described by her leadership peers, clinical staff and providers as ‘incredibly responsive,’ straightforward and always willing to work with other departments to proactively resolve issues, [and] thoroughly objective, innovative and thinks through the steps toward a successful outcome.”
Craig was humble about the recognition.
“While I was very surprised, I was also extremely honored to be nominated and selected as the Emerging Nurse Leader Award 2013 recipient by OMNE,” she said. “Although I always try to do my very best, this helps to reaffirm that I am on the right path of my own personal goal of always ‘doing the right thing.’”
Craig began her career with TAMC as a nurse in the emergency department. Over the years, she assumed progressive responsibility through various roles such as house supervisor, ED clinical coordinator, as well as interim and full-time clinical manager of the SCU, MST and Women’s and Children’s Services for a brief time. Her focus on her patients and innovative thinking helped to find areas where streamlining, efficiency and training would save money, while at the same time providing an improved experience for TAMC providers and their patients.
“She’s really been able to apply her clinical skill to all of these areas,” said Turnbull. “She’s a teacher — very detail oriented. She shares her knowledge freely. When she’s rounding the units, she’ll use those opportunities to share and teach. She’s a wealth of knowledge. I have a great deal of respect for her and I admire her work ethic and her dedication to her family and her career.”
Turnbull expanded on Craig’s role as an educator in the nomination letter saying, “Over the past several months, in her role as manager of clinical education and informatics liaison, Vilma is truly emerging with brilliance. She has led the revamping of several educational programs, specifically our Preceptor and New Graduate curriculum and new hire orientation, including structure, mentoring, meaningful evaluation and development plans for continuing clinical education that incorporate knowledge, skills and EMR documentation … bringing education ‘out of the classroom, onto the units’ to promote just-in-time education and teachable moments. In addition, she is leading work with providers and nursing staff to provide regular mock codes and simulations to assure high quality patient centered care is a guiding principle in the forefront of the minds of staff and daily operations in our delivery of care, emergency response and critical care readiness.”
In addition, Craig is a graduate of the Advisory Board Leadership Academy through EMHS, and has been a member of Toastmasters for three years. She is currently enrolled as a student at St. Joseph’s College, with a plan to achieve her BSN as a means to pursue future opportunities in leadership. Turnbull says Craig’s family plays an important role in her successful career.
“Sometime it’s hard to find a balance and she definitely fills her tank through her family,” she said. “They are supportive and proud of her.”
