Tanya Osborne-McKenzie Wins AMN Healthcare ACNL Scholarship

Association of California Nurse Leaders Supports Research Efforts for Improved Patient Care

SAN DIEGO, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- AMN Healthcare congratulates Tanya Osborne-McKenzie, RN, who was the recipient of a $2,500 scholarship presented at the 31st annual Association of California Nurse Leaders (ANCL) Conference.

This is the first research scholarship awarded by ACNL. Osborne-McKenzie is the director of OrthoNeuroSpine nursing at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital in Salinas, CA. She was awarded the scholarship for her research on patient hand-off's and change of shift reports.

"I truly appreciate AMN and ACNL for this scholarship," said Osborne-McKenzie. "I was very surprised but also excited about how interested other people are in this subject. It's something nurses know we need. People in formal leadership areas are interested but it is very meaningful that the staff nurses that are actually going to be using this research are interested and engaged. The scholarship is huge."

Osborne-McKenzie's interest in the role of communication during patient hand-offs started when she began working on the Med-Surg unit at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital in 2007. She saw inconsistencies in the change of report and the comprehensiveness of reporting. One of the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals call for standardized language in reporting and Osborne-McKenzie began her research of creating better efficiency and understanding during patient hand-offs.

"It's a passion of mine," she said. "The most important part of a nurse's job is communication and we don't teach people how to do that."

Osborne-McKenzie is hoping her research will validate recommendations from the World Health Organization and the Joint Commission for verbal shift reports. She will present her findings at the University of Pennsylvania at the Sigma Theta Tau International Leadership Summit this March.

About Association of California Nurse Leaders

For 30 years, the Association of California Nurse Leaders has been living its vision of positioning nurse leaders to influence the future of health care. ACNL is a powerful voice for nurse leaders throughout California and serves as a statewide and national example of affecting positive change for nursing and health care by developing nurse leaders, advancing the professional practice of nursing and improving the health of California's communities. Visit www.acnl.org for more information.

About AMN Healthcare

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. is the largest healthcare staffing company in the United States and the largest nationwide provider in all three of its business segments: travel nurse and allied staffing, locum tenens staffing (temporary physician staffing), and physician permanent placement services. AMN Healthcare recruits healthcare professionals both nationally and internationally and places them on variable lengths of assignments and in permanent positions at acute-care hospitals, physician practice groups and other healthcare settings throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.amnhealthcare.com.

SOURCE AMN Healthcare

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