“It’s very touching and I’m beyond honored by this recognition.”
Those are the words Amy Barton, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, uses to describe what it was like to win a Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing Eminence from the Colorado Nurses Foundation. She was honored with the award on May 18.
Amy Barton, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, receives the Excellence in Nursing Eminence Award |
The Colorado Nurses Foundation gave out awards in 15 categories. The honorees were selected from a regional Nightingale Awards event in April. The Nightingale Awards are given to Colorado nurses who create initiatives that foster nursing excellence and promote leadership in the state’s healthcare systems.
Barton, the senior associate dean for faculty and students at the University of Colorado College of Nursing at Anschutz Medical Campus, had no idea she was going to win and was convinced another nominee would win.
“I was shocked when I won, I really was,” Barton says. “When I saw one of my long-term community colleagues was nominated, I was certain she would win at the Nightingale Award, so that’s why I was beyond shocked when they announced I won.”
Barton equates the Excellence in Nursing Eminence Award to a Lifetime Achievement Award. It was also the first time she received a standing ovation from her peers.
“It was so overwhelming, and it’s very meaningful,” Barton says. “I’ve nominated people in the past for these awards, and this is such an amazing honor.”
Bonita Shrivaga, a midwife who worked in one of CU Nursing’s practices when Barton first came to the college nominated her.
“To have someone from my past reach out and say she wanted to nominate me is very touching,” Barton says.
CU Nursing faculty (Left-Right) Susan Bonini, JoAnne Crownover, Amy Barton, Jeanne Burnkrant, and Theresa Nino |
The nomination explains how Barton advanced the profession and practice of nursing. Those accomplishments include her focus on community-based, nurse-led care and growing clinical practices that serve diverse and vulnerable populations. Barton has contributed significantly to nursing education and nurse-led care. She’s authored 95 journal articles, three books, and nearly 20 book chapters, and presented 145 papers at various conferences.
The nomination goes into detail about Barton being an important mentor by getting students and faculty involved and helping them advance their careers. She advises graduate and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing students, serves as a faculty mentor, and helped create a program for students interested in healthcare careers to visit CU Nursing.
Barton credits her accomplishments to the support she’s received in her nearly three decades at the college.
“CU Nursing has been such a great environment to thrive, both personally and professionally,” she says. “It’s so easy to come to work every day. The University provides the opportunity to think deeply and use scholarly approaches to develop solutions. It’s a privilege to be here. I get paid to dream, create a vision, and actually reach that vision.”
She’s created (and reached) that vision twice so far in her career at CU Nursing: developing Sheridan Health Services and creating the CU Nursing Fort Lewis Collaborative.
“Those projects were years in the making, and watching them come to fruition…it’s something people don’t have the opportunity to do all the time. So I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been able to think big and follow my dreams, and it’s awesome.”
CU Nursing Celebrates at the Nightingale Awards
Theresa Nino and her team, the Denver Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, won a Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nurse Led Teams |
Barton was not the only faculty member to be recognized. Theresa Nino and her team, the Denver Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, won a Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nurse Led Teams.
Assistant Professor JoAnn Crownover, DNP, RN, CNE, and Assistant Professor and Specialty Director of Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Maggie Thompson, DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, also attended the ceremony. They were both nominated for Nursing Education: Academia.
“It was so much fun to share this honor with Joann and Maggie during the local recognition event back in April,” Barton says. “It’s great to share these things with your peers.”
