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TNSA Awards: In a new light
As the plane taxied out for take-off seat-mates began to exchange pleasantries, as travelers often do. One young man turned to another seated at his side and said, “Hey, I recognize you from the convention. You are Shiner Time from Top Dog U. Good to see you again.”
“Do I know you?” Shiner asked.
“You probably don’t. I didn’t make near the splash that you did at Houston. I am Whiner Late from Underdog U.”
“Sorry I didn’t recall you, nice to meet you. Wasn’t convention great? I can’t wait until next year in San Antonio.”
“Oh, convention was alright, I guess, and it sure beat a week of clinicals and classes.” Whiner looked downcast, “I guess it was better for you and your school’s delegation, I mean with all the awards ya’ll got and with you getting that scholarship and all. We didn’t get a thing.”
“I am sorry that you didn’t get any recognition. What awards were you and your chapter up for?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know how the committees find out what the different chapters are doing so that they get awards.”
“Really? Well let me give you a short course in awards 101. The committees find out when you or a fellow chapter member fill out the awards application for that particular award. You can get these forms off the TNSA website or from the Chapter Guide. Did you know that two of the awards we received were because the committee didn’t have any other applicants? That isn’t the way we wanted it. We like to see what all the chapters are doing and to win only if we are really the best.”
“Heck, I don’t even know what a lot of the awards are about, and our chapter isn’t very active. We are all real busy with school.”
“Yeah we are busy too, that is why it is important to keep a camera handy and look for opportunities for your chapter to shine. One of the awards we received, the committee chair said, was because our project was presented better, not that the project itself was better than the competition. Photos or very brief videos are really good documentation. As are letters of recommendation and media stuff like newspaper clippings. Then there is the letter from the chapter advisor or instructor. These can make or break your chances of winning.”
“Ok, Ok, I get that part but what are the individual awards really about? I mean how do you decide which award category a certain project or activity fits into? “Some of the awards are pretty self-explanatory. For instance the Community Service Award is for any project or activity that enhances or aids the community.”
“Which community?” Whiner asks, “The student nursing community?”
“It can be any community.” Shiner explains, “The elderly, or the little kids, or the school, or the sports, or the college, or all of the people in the area.”
“Really? For instance?”
“Like a project giving sports equipment to a kids club is a community service project. Do you see what I mean?”
“Ok, I see that, but how about Breakthrough to Nursing and Political Action and Image of Nursing?”
“Breakthrough to Nursing is for any project that has to do with recruitment and retention of nursing students and nurses, especially for underrepresented groups, like men, minority races, unconventional students, (like second career or physically challenged students). Got it?”
“Yeah, and Image?”
“Image is for any project that has to do with how nursing is perceived by society. For instance, one year the winning chapter had written letters of complaint and letters of appreciation to television producers and network executives about how nursing was presented on television in shows like MASH and ER.”
“Oh, now I see. I never could see much difference in those two and now I see that it is like black and white. Wow! Now Political Action?”
“That is really simple. Anything that affects nursing in politics. One year it was another letter writing campaign, only the letters were to congressmen about the nursing shortage, and certain legislation that was being reviewed that could have affected nurses moving to Texas. Anything else?”
“Well some are really easy, like the Scrapbook Award and the Save the Quarters Award. I think I get it now. Now how about strategies to win the awards?”
“Simple really, just fill out the forms and get them sent in with the requested documentation, and make it neat and attractive; oh, the earlier the better. Most applications are due in January. Follow the directions and keep it brief, remember that the Board of Officers has to review all of the entries, set up and present the convention all in the same week so they are really busy. We try to keep our videos under two minutes and to present paper documentation, with a snap shot or two, to review so that the Board doesn’t have to keep re-watching the tape. A picture can be worth a thousand words but a thousand pictures are way too much to review.” Shiner smiles at Whiner, “Got it?”
“Yes, I see. Are the scholarships from applications, too?”
“Yes.”
“Due in January, too?”
“Yessirree Bob, You’ve got it!”
“Huh? No, my name is Whiner. Whiner Late from Under Dog U, remember?”
Whiner thinks, ‘Gee! He can’t even recall my name and he got a scholarship, bet I can get one next year’. “Hey man, thanks for the info”, he says with a knowing grin. |
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Rebecca Stogsdill TNSA Consultant |
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February 2008 Vol. 58 No. 2 |