Three New Jersey nurses recognized for excellence

Three South Jersey nurses serving institutions in Voorhees and Vineland are among six recognized for 2015 with the GEM (Giving Excellence Meaning) Award by Nurse.com for outstanding contributions to patients and the profession. The other three serve Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr institutions.

Nurse.com is produced by Gannett Healthcare Group, a leading health-care media company and one of the largest digital and print publishers of news and information for registered nurses in the United States.

The three New Jersey award recipients are Barbara McCormick, a specialty care transport nurse for Kennedy Health System in Voorhees and an adjunct professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden; David Dacanay Jr., a staff nurse at Virtua Voorhees Hospital; and Emily Turnure, administrative director of education and accreditation at Inspira Health Network in Vineland.

Six winners were chosen from 30 regional GEM Award finalists this year.

"This award speaks volumes to the community we serve and to the nurses we honor, who provide care on a daily basis to those in need," said McCormick, who has worked for Kennedy Health for more than 20 years, and manages teams of critical-care nurses and emergency medical technicians who staff specialty-care transport units for patients.

She is the second consecutive Rutgers-Camden nursing professor to receive GEM honors. Marian Nowak, an assistant professor at the nursing school, won the national GEM Award for volunteerism and service in 2014.

"The health-care experience is not a one-person job, and this award belongs to all my coworkers who have helped care for the patients we serve," McCormick said.

Dacanay also gave credit to the workers who serve with him. "I've been very fortunate to have worked alongside the best and most compassionate group of individuals who are engaged in providing exceptional patient care," he said.

As part of an extended family in the Philippines, he said, he saw his grandparents care for several family members who were sick and infirm. "Having been exposed to that, I developed the heart of helping those in need," he said.

Bringing more people into the nursing profession - and helping them achieve national certification - is the goal of Turnure, who recommends that nurses establish both short-term and long-term goals, since they can provide a way to measure success.

"If you can only take one class at a time in the beginning, start with one class," she said.

Turnure also recommends finding a mentor, "someone who you admire and is in a career path that you find intriguing.

"Ask that person if they will mentor you along the way," she said. "Give back to others when you accomplish a goal."

- Edward Colimore