Piedmont Atlanta Hospital’s medical-surgical unit on 5-South has received the prestigious AMSN PRISM Award, an honor recognizing exceptional nursing practice, leadership and outcomes in hospital medical-surgical units.

The award, which stands for “Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-Surg,” is the first of its kind honoring med-surg nursing units in the United States and internationally. It is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board. The award is given to outstanding acute care/med-surg units or adult/pediatric units classified as med-surg.

“This isn’t an award that’s given easily,” said Kelly Hulsey, Chief Nursing Officer for Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. “This award recognizes the nursing team on 5-South as exemplary. These nurses truly live Piedmont’s mission to make a positive difference in every life we touch.”

Hoping to inspire nurses to strive for the highest levels of patient safety and quality, AMSN and MSNCB launched the award in October 2012. The award also reflects the compassion, commitment, and connection that characterize med-surg nurses.

Specifically, the award celebrates units that exhibit:

• Effective leadership

• Recruitment and retention of competent staff members

• Evidence-based practice

• Positive patient outcomes

• A healthy practice environment

• Lifelong learning of unit staff members

There are more than 600,000 medical-surgical nurses practicing in the United States today, making them the single largest group of specialty nurses working in hospital settings, according to AMSN. Med-surg nurses oversee a broad spectrum of patient care responsibilities, another reason the acronym “PRISM” was chosen for the award.