AMSN Names Cleveland Clinic as First Recipient of Kathleen Singleton Award

Cleveland Clinic Receives First Kathleen Singleton Award from AMSN, Medtronic

PITMAN, NJ – The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) has named Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, as the first recipient of the new Kathleen Singleton Award, which recognizes health care institutions that provide exemplary support to medical-surgical nursing units.

The award, which will be given out annually is cosponsored by Medtronic, Inc. It was launched this year to award facilities that have an outstanding record of promoting a healthy workplace environment that foster a ‘patient first’ philosophy.

According to AMSN leaders, Cleveland Clinic was chosen for its robust support of nursing education and clinical competency, and for fostering respectful nurse-nurse, nurse-physician, and interprofessional collaborations.

“Cleveland Clinic embodies institutional support for medical-surgical nursing units,” said AMSN President Summer Bryant, DNP, RN, CENP, CMSRN. “Along with promoting autonomy of nursing practice and nursing leadership, Cleveland Clinic advocates for and sustains a culture of environmental safety for patients and nurses.”

Bryant added that Cleveland Clinic has also been a strong supporter of medical-surgical nurses in their institutions by supporting Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN®) certification through AMSN’s FailSafe Certification Program™ and by  demonstrating excellence in medical-surgical nursing with two Cleveland Clinic units having received AMSN PRISM Awards®.

AMSN and Medtronic felt that an award recognizing and celebrating organizations that support medical-surgical nurses and promote a healthy practice environment was critical, especially in light of current challenges facing medical-surgical, and all, nurses. It was clear that the award needed to be named for a nurse who actively promoted the need for healthy practice environments for medical-surgical nurses and who exemplified the role of AMSN in promoting nurse well-being, organizational engagement, as well as a commitment to continuing professional growth and development.

According to Bryant, there was no doubt that the namesake for the award should be Kathleen Singleton, MSN, APRN-CNS, CMSRN, who served as AMSN president from 2008-2010 and is one of the association’s most dedicated and respected leaders.

Singleton said she is honored to be selected as the namesake of the award, and noted the award is to “celebrate distinguished health care systems that actively support the unique contributions that med-surg nurses make to a healthy work environment, to excellent patient outcomes, and to their organization's continued successes.”

“The facility that receives this award – in this case, Cleveland Clinic as the first recipient - recognizes medical-surgical nurses as clinical leaders who function as a team within a nursing unit, and not just workers on a regular floor,” Singleton said. “This aspect of the award is extremely important to me personally, and to all medical-surgical nurses, as it captures their unique and essential contributions within the health care system.”

Meredith Foxx, MSN, MBA, APRN, PCNS-BC, PPCNP-BC, CPON, Cleveland Clinic Executive Chief Nursing Officer, said the award “is a testament to dedication, compassion and professionalism of our medical-surgical nurses and nurse leaders.”

“Cleveland Clinic is fortunate to support medical-surgical nursing as a specialty. It is the historical influence and futuristic thinking that sustains this nursing specialty,” Foxx said. “Cleveland Clinic Nursing Institute supports medical-surgical nursing at the highest level, with certification support, shared governance councils and a focused group of medical-surgical nurse leaders who are committed to growing this group of nursing professions. I am proud to work for and lead at an organization that recognizes all nursing specialty care, especially medical-surgical nursing. And it’s even better that the award is named after a Cleveland Clinic nursing leader who has influenced medical-surgical nursing in such a vast way. We are forever grateful for Kathleen Singleton’s vision for medical-surgical nursing, and I am proud to call her a colleague, role model and friend.”

Medtronic is co-sponsoring the award because the company recognizes the incredible heart, passion, and energy medical-surgical nurses put into their roles every day, said Michael Noble, the company’s Principal U.S. Field Marketing Strategist.

“We know the pandemic has either exacerbated existing challenges or created new ones,” Noble said. “So, it’s more important than ever that we celebrate our medical-surgical nurses and their institutions who demonstrate unwavering support. They are amongst the heroes who touch patients’ lives across the country. Cleveland Clinic clearly embodies all those things and more that this award promotes. We’re thrilled and privileged to honor them.”

Visit the Kathleen Singleton Award.

More About Kathleen Singleton

Singleton, who lives in Rocky River, OH, has been a member of AMSN since 1994. Since joining, she has served in a wide variety of roles in addition to her presidency. These included treasurer, AMSN Board of Directors; North Central Regional Director; chair, Clinical Practice Committee; charter member, AMSN Foundation; and chair, Nomination Committee. She was the Northeast Ohio Chapter president, and also served in multiple local chapter roles. Over time, she participated in more than 10 AMSN committees and taskforces.

Singleton recently retired after working for nearly 50 years in a variety of nursing positions. These included critical-care and medical-surgical bedside nurse, clinical nursing faculty member, and Medical-Surgical Instructor of Nursing.

For the last 27 years, Singleton was an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Clinical Nurse Specialist for Medical-Surgical Nursing, at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, Cleveland, OH.

She has authored several nursing publications and presented at international, national, and local settings.

The many awards she has received during her career include the AMSN President's Award (2013); Zielony Nursing Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Lifetime Achievement Award (2013); and The Cleveland Plain Dealer "Best of the Best" (1994).

In retirement Singleton continues to collaborate with AMSN.

About Medical-Surgical Nursing and AMSN

Medical-surgical nursing is the single largest nursing specialty in the United States and beyond. The nurses are highly skilled experts who lead interprofessional teams to care for adults with a variety of medical issues or who are preparing for/recovering from surgery. They work in a wide variety of settings that include hospitals, outpatient settings, homes, via telemedicine and other non-traditional settings.

AMSN serves the association’s 10,000 members through professional development, certification, scholarship, and advocacy. The association also supports the nursing profession by collaborating with other nursing and health care organizations, as well as advocating legislators in Washington, DC, to promote nursing, safe patient care, COVID19 support, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and other national initiatives across the health care industry.