Criteria for Application/Nomination

The Award

This award is given to a graduating senior each semester at the Pinning Ceremony. It is considered the top faculty award. Nominations for the Outstanding Student Award are solicited from, and voting resides with, the nursing faculty. All full-time and part-time faculty are encouraged to make nominations. After nominations are received, all faculty are given the opportunity to vote.

The Department of Nursing Outstanding Student Award was renamed the Victoria Alcantara Outstanding Nursing Student Award in 2011 as a way to honor the memory of Victoria Alcantara, a junior nursing student who passed away in January 2009 following a car accident. Victoria characterized the qualities we seek to acknowledge with this award: dedication, compassion, academic excellence, and University and community involvement.

Criteria

Areas to consider in making your nomination include the following:

• The promotion of nursing (commitment, marketing, professional image and membership in professional organizations).
• Evidence of the active pursuit of knowledge (conscientious effort, research/scholarly activities, creative, positive attitude toward learning and intellectual curiosity).
• University and community involvement (professional nursing, college, interdisciplinary, university and community volunteerism).
• The Caring Dimension (interpersonal skills, sensitivity to others, collaboration and flexibility).
• Application of nursing process within a clinical setting (assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation).