During the 2009 WOCN Annual Conference in St. Louis, Dr. Mikel Gray was awarded the 2009 WOCN President's Award. The award is given out annually by the WOCN President to a WOCN member who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of wound, ostomy, and continence nursing, and to the organization.
Mikel's impressive CV (68 pages!!) lists multiple accomplishments. Even a glimpse of the highlights reveal the career of an individual who is dedicated to excellence in nursing, developing, and sharing of best practices, and furthering the field through nursing research. He is a Nurse Practitioner, a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, a Certified Urologic Nurse Practitioner, and a Certified Continence Care Nurse.
Mikel has been involved in funded research as a recipient of multiple peer review grants, has helped direct clinical trials and was instrumental in developing the Society's Center for Clinical Investigation (CCI) and leading the CCI in its first few years.
The honoree is a member of the American Nurses Association, American Academy of Nursing, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Urological Association, International Continence Society, Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates, and-of course-the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society. His many distinguishing accomplishments include: professional appointments to task forces and boards, national and international presentations, numerous books, book chapters, and articles that all point to a consistent contribution of outstanding service to our nursing specialty. Furthermore, they showcase Mikel's dedication to WOCN, which is why we he was honored with the President's Award.
From my perspective, I would like to highlight a few of Mikel's special contributions related directly to WOCN:
* He served on the WOCN National Conference Planning Committee from 1994 through the present
* He was a founding and continuing board member of the WOCN's Center for Clinical Investigation from 2000 to the present
* He is the outstanding editor of The Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing.
In addition to Mikel's many other commitments on the university level at both the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and with organizations such as the National Kidney Foundation, National Federation of Specialty Nurse Organizations, and the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates - the honoree has always reserved a special commitment to WOCN. Through his many connections in the field, his dedication to excellence in patient care, and as a champion of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing as a specialty practice, he has done so much for all of us.
On a personal note I would like to recognize the contribution that this outstanding professional has made on a personal level of so many of us - serving as a mentor, gently guiding careers, taking time to listen to many of us as we struggled with the development of a potential article or research topic and for his championship of what the Society does.
Congratulations to Dr. Mikel Gray, the WOCN's recipient of the 2009 President's Award!!