UVM Medical Center Nurse Leader Receives National ONL Award

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A senior nurse leader at the University of Vermont Medical Center recently received national recognition from the Organization of Nurse Leaders (ONL) for her years of dedication to nurse-advocacy, leadership and professional development.

Pamela Stevens, MSN, RN, CPHQ, CLSSGB, Director of Nursing Practice and Outcomes at UVM Medical Center, received ONL’s 2024 Pamela Leigh Vecchiarino Nursing Leadership Award. Created in 2016, the award honors nurse leaders who are patient-focused change agents committed to improving outcomes, advance the profession of nursing and are compassionate role models to others.

“In her 22 years at {UVM Medical Center), Pam has long been recognized as a colleague who invigorates (others) through her passion, energy, enthusiasm and positivity,” ONL wrote in an announcement, noting that Stevens’ work includes hospital-wide initiatives to improve patient and staff outcomes. “When new problems arise in the clinical environment, the organization relies on Pam to understand the problem, develop solutions and deliver results.”

Stevens, who joined UVM Medical Center in 2001, leads the hospital’s Retention and Engagement Committee and has been a tireless advocate for programs that support workforce development and continuing education for nurses, as well as increasing opportunities for staff recognition and feedback. Prior to her leadership role, Stevens served as a clinical nurse specializing in cardiology, as a nurse educator, and then spent more than a decade on UVM Medical Center’s quality improvement team.

Under Stevens’ leadership, the committee has implemented a variety programs and initiatives that either directly serve or involve nurses, including:

• “Suits to Scrubs” programs that bring executives and leaders onto the front lines of health care, where they get a firsthand view of frontline workers’ experiences.
• “Nurses Night Out” programs, which provide opportunities for the Nursing department to socialize and receive recognition.
• “Preceptor Award” programs that recognize the incredible contributions of nurses who serve as preceptors for new staff.

Stevens, in her nursing leadership role, also focuses heavily on the quality of care that is delivered by nurses at the bedside. Utilizing quality improvement methodology and evidence-based practice she works with teams to implement system wide standards of care to reduce hospital acquired conditions, Additionally, she enjoys supporting the hospital’s Nursing Professional Governance Council, mentoring the council’s chairperson, who is a clinical practice registered nurse, and infusing quality improvement and evidence-based practice into the group’s work.

“I consider it an honor to provide guidance and mentoring,” she said. “Every team member I interact with has different needs and goals, and it’s an opportunity to figure out how to make those things attainable. The bedside nurse is at the heart of everything we do, and I really enjoy bringing the right people together to improve the care that we deliver.”