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Nurse of the Year delivers Excellence by Megan Fink Public Relations Every year, the Nurse of the Year award goes to the registered nurse who has displayed the highest level of merit. With more than 50 exceptional unit winners vying for the top honor of Nurse of the Year, Adina Garner, Labor and Delivery, represents the best of the best.   Adina Garner positions an electronic fetal monitor around an expectant mother. The monitor traces fetal heart rate and contraction patterns during labor. “It highlights the last 13 years of my work at MUSC,” said Garner. “I was nominated and recognized by my peers, which is so important to me.”   As Nurse of the Year, Garner will enjoy a free parking space for a year in the G lot. She also was presented a “Tourist in Your Own Town” package that includes dinner certificates to local restaurants, a stay at the Meeting Street Inn, a carriage ride downtown, spa treatments, and a decorative plate of historic Charleston.   Garner’s specialty is outpatient education, specifically childbirth and breastfeeding classes. She instructs mothers-to-be on the proper techniques of these fundamental practices at both MUSC and Babies “R” Us. She also shares her knowledge at the bedside by helping mothers with their breathing positions and comfort positions while in labor.   Two philosophies guide Garner in her nursing practice; one being the Golden Rule, which states “treat others as you would like to be treated.” The other value system comes from her mother, Suzette Gaines, R.N., who works in the medical intensive care unit (MICU). “She would always tell me to do my best and work as if I was signing my name to each task,” Garner said.   Garner credits the high caliber of staff in Labor and Delivery, veteran and newer nurses alike, for her success. “One labor nurse can’t take care of her own delivery, the mother, and the baby all by themselves,” said Garner. “Whether it’s a Cesarean section or a normal delivery, there’s at least another person in the room.”   In addition to staff support, Garner acknowledged the continuous backing from her nurse manager, Debbie Jones, R.N. “She knows us individually and personally, which gives her nurses a morale boost,” Garner said.   She advises nurses who are just starting out in the profession to get involved in various unit projects. “You have to be engaged in what you do. We could go to the patient’s room and not come out until after the baby’s born. However, if you participate in other projects like patient satisfaction, customer service or patient education, you’ll remain engaged.”   The honor of Nurse of the Year is decided by a hospitalwide committee that selects one winner from the group of divisional winners. Divisional winners, who also are chosen by committee, are first nominated by hospital staff.     Friday, May 9, 2008 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.