The 18th Annual March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Award 2020, Education Category, has been awarded to Valley’s Terry Lynch, RN, MSN-Ed, CCRN, PCCN, Valley’s Critical Care Educator. The award honors those who making significant contributions to the education and professional development of nursing professionals. Out of 25 nominations this year, Valley Medical Center is proud to honor and congratulate our winner!
“Terry’s passion for his profession is contagious, says Terry’s nominator. “When he walks onto the unit, staff seek him out to confer with him about patients and their cases and how we are performing our care. When there are devices or procedures that are high risk but low volume on the unit, staff flock to these rooms to listen to Terry’s educational moments on best practice. And he teaches these tidbits and lessons using memorable mnemonics and visuals that worm their way into your memory to pull out at later dates. The plaques that state ‘I teach. What’s your superpower?’ were created for people like Terry.”
While presenting the award, Theresa Braungardt, RN, Valley’s Chief Nursing Officer and Operations Section Chief of the COVID-19 response said to Terry, “Thank you for advancing the nursing profession, especially the discipline of critical care, for sharing your passion for your profession and excellence with all of our teams. Thank you so much for all you do every day in helping us get through this pandemic.”
When receiving this honor, Terry said how “every story has to start with ‘and then there was COVID.'” Through it all, he has witnessed “the same drive to learn, to grow, to improve, during the toughest times I’ve ever seen in 30 years of nursing. When I heard of this nomination, I was humbled and surprised for being recognized for doing my job, which is what I love. All I can say is thank you for this opportunity, and thank you to March of Dimes for the opportunity to serve. I feel like part of the community and part of the family.”
Watch Terry’s award presentation from the March of Dimes.
