November 16, 2007

Washington named Nurse of the Year

At a formal ceremony in Chicago Oct. 29, MGH Director of Diversity for Patient Care Services (PCS) Deborah Washington, RN, MS, PhDc, (left) received the prestigious honor of being named Nursing Spectrum magazine's National Nurse of the Year in the Advancing and Leading the Profession category.

Washington has been the director of Diversity for PCS since 1995. She has been instrumental in leading several initiatives to promote diversity and cultural competence at the MGH, including co-designing the first culturally competent care curriculum at the hospital and originating the MGH's African American Pinning Ceremony to celebrate the contributions employees have made in creating a positive and open culture. She has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including fellowships in the Health Research and Educational Trust Cultural Competence Leadership Fellowship Program and the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program.

"Deb's compassion and creativity have shaped a powerful tradition of sharing and healing," says Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, senior vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nurse. "While doing all of her wonderful work, she also is enrolled in the doctoral program at Boston College. She is a great asset to Patient Care Services and the MGH."