Nursing Excellence Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2011
Contact: Karen E. Warmkessel kwarmkessel@umm.edu
Sharon Boston sboston@umm.edu 410-328-8919

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER'S CHIEF NURSING OFFICER RECEIVES NURSING EXCELLENCE AWARD FROM NURSING SPECTRUM

Lisa Rowen, RN, DNSc, FAAN, chosen for top award in 'Advancing & Leading the Profession'

Lisa Rowen, RN, DNSc, FAAN,

BALTIMORE, MD – June 8, 2011. Nominated by her staff for inspiring nurses at all levels to be leaders, University of Maryland Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Rowen, RN, DNSc, FAAN, received the top award last night from Nursing Spectrum magazine in the category of “Advancing and Leading the Profession.” The judges chose Rowen from among other finalists from the District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia region. Nurse leaders were nominated for their outstanding performance in one of six categories: advancing and leading the profession, clinical care, community service, management, mentoring and teaching. Rowen will now be considered along with winners from other regions for Nursing Spectrum’s national Nurse of the Year awards in the fall.

In nominating Rowen, staff highlighted her support of their professional growth and her leadership, such as her model of “rounding,” or making a series of visits to individual units to speak in depth about what everyone from bedside nurses to top executives could do to support the highest quality of care. Rowen has set the standard for interpersonal relationships and strengthened team dynamics and communication, her nominators said.

Jeffrey A. Rivest, president and chief executive officer of the medical center, says, “Together with her leadership team, Lisa Rowen has established a culture that supports all nurses in developing as professionals and advancing the practice of nursing. Her leadership and the resulting professional growth among the nursing staff at the University of Maryland Medical Center have instilled a great sense of pride in every nurse and improved the care our patients receive.”

Since becoming chief nursing officer, Rowen has been instrumental in building a partnership with the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Along with Dean Janet Allan, PhD, RN, FAAN, Rowen has brought nursing education and clinical practice together with a shared vision to optimize patient outcomes by enhancing nursing practice. UMMC nurses can maintain their clinical careers while pursuing an advanced degree, pairing with a faculty member to conduct research, or providing clinical instruction to nursing students.

Rowen began as a surgical nurse 28 years ago. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, and went on to become director of nursing at Mercy Medical Center, later promoted to vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. She then became director of surgical nursing at Johns Hopkins Hospital and earned a Doctor of Nursing Science degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. In 2007, she came to the University of Maryland Medical Center as chief nursing officer and senior vice president of nursing and patient care services. Rowen is associate professor of nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and adjunct associate professor of nursing at Northeastern University in Boston.

Rowen is the founding editor of Bariatric Nursing and Surgical Patient Care, a peer-reviewed journal that is published in more than 140 countries. She has had more than 60 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and is currently the principal investigator of a study funded by the American Organization of Nurse Executives that investigates the influence of nurse leader rounding on patient outcomes. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CENTER:

The University of Maryland Medical Center is a 757-bed teaching hospital in Baltimore, Md., that provides a full range of health services to people throughout Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region. It is a national and regional referral center for trauma, cancer care, cardiac care, neurocare, women’s and children’s health, and organ transplants. The medical center is the flagship hospital of the University of Maryland Medical System, a private, not-for-profit network of 12 academic, community and specialty hospitals throughout Maryland.

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This page was last updated on: June 8, 2011.