The International Family Nursing Association Awards recognize and celebrate IFNA members who provide outstanding contributions to transform health for families worldwide and advance the nursing of families. Seven awards in 4 categories will be presented to chosen recipients at the 14th International Family Nursing Conference in Washington DC in August 2019. The IFNA Awards Committee, chaired by Dr. Norma Krumwiede, with members from 7 countries, oversees the development and selection process of these awards. Nominations are now open for the IFNA 2019 Awards. The deadline is January 31, 2019.
Dr. Catherine Laing (Canada) received a 2017 IFNA Rising Star Award. Here is her account of what receiving this award means to her:
In 2017 I was the fortunate co-recipient of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) Rising Star Award. It was an incredible honor to be recognized by my Family Nursing peers for my research related to families who experience childhood cancer. I have long considered this field to be my “life’s work,” and I realized very early in my career that families are the foundation from which everything else arises in pediatric oncology. It was a moment of great pride for me to receive the 2017 IFNA Rising Star award at the 13thInternational Family Nursing Conference in Pamplona, Spain; to be recognized for this work is more than a personal honor, it is also recognition for all the children and families with whom I work, that their experiences matter, and are important for us to understand.
I was humbled to be nominated for this award by my colleague, mentor, and friend, Dr. Nancy Moules. As a previous recipient of the 2015 IFNA Excellence in Family Nursing Award, Dr. Moules has been instrumental in my research success. A nomination from someone most consider a “giant in her field” is indeed an honour.
Thank you to the IFNA Awards Committee for your continued dedication in recognizing contributions to the area of Family Nursing and Family Health! These awards help not only nurses and family health scholars committed to the advancement of this field, but also the families with whom we work.
Catherine Laing, RN, PhD
Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Undergraduate Program)
University of Calgary
