Unit Award - AMSN PRISM Award®

The AMSN PRISM Award^®

Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-surg

What is The AMSN PRISM Award?

The AMSN PRISM Award is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB). PRISM stands for Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-surg. It was created at the request of AMSN members who wanted an award to recognize the exemplary practice of medical-surgical units.

The AMSN PRISM Award provides special recognition to the exemplary practice of medical-surgical units.

Is Your Unit Exemplary?

The professional nurse is responsible for the individual practice, but it takes a dynamic, energetic, and committed group of professionals working as a team to achieve and sustain outstanding patient outcomes and high staff satisfaction.

Through this distinguished honor, AMSN and MSNCB identify and celebrate medical-surgical units that achieve sustained excellence through exhibiting:

1. Effective leadership
2. Recruitment and retention of competent staff members
3. Evidence-based practice
4. Positive patient outcomes
5. Healthy practice environment
6. Lifelong learning of unit staff members

What type of unit qualifies as a medical-surgical unit?

Patient care units eligible to apply for the award include any individual acute care unit with a primarily adult and/or elderly patient population with medical-surgical diagnoses. These units may:

• Admit and provide care for adolescent patients on a periodic basis in an "overflow" capacity.
• Be a combined adult/pediatric unit that is classified by the facility as a medical-surgical unit.
• Utilize remote telemetry monitoring, but may not be classified as step-down/progressive care units by their facilities.
• Be from the same facility as long as each unit fits the description of a medical-surgical unit and applies individually.
• Float pools are not eligible to apply.

How Does A Unit Apply for the AMSN PRISM Award?

Each unit must complete the PRISM Award Application and submit payment. Units may apply for the award throughout the year as there are no deadlines.

How is the application evaluated or scored?

Applications are blinded and peer reviewed by a team of medical-surgical nurses using the PRISM Award Scoring Tool. The structure of the scoring tool is built on the Eight Essential Attributes for a Healthy Work Environment (Kramer and Schmalenberg, 2008).

When will we be notified of the results of our application?

The review process takes approximately 14 weeks. The facility contact person will be contacted by email.

How long does the AMSN PRISM Award designation last?

The award is valid for a period of three (3) years, and the unit is encouraged to reapply toward the end of that time.

How is the AMSN PRISM Award presented and acknowledged?

AMSN and MSNCB are pleased to present this award personally to the medical-surgical unit at their facility on a mutually agreed upon celebration date. A member of the AMSN or MSNCB Board (or their designated representative) will make the presentation.

The medical-surgical unit recipient will receive a 19"x16" elegantly framed plaque to display in a prominent location on the unit. Recipient units also receive permission to announce their achievement and use the AMSN PRISM Award Recipient Seal in local and national advertising and publications, and other promotional vehicles (banners, unit scrubs, etc.), per provided guidelines.

AMSN will announce your unit's award on the AMSN Website and in other AMSN media.

Is Your Unit Ready to Apply?

Completion of the AMSN PRISM Award application requires planning, time and collaboration on the part of the unit that wishes to apply. To get started:

• Review the AMSN PRISM Award Scoring Tool
• Begin your AMSN PRISM Award Application

NOTE: Both documents are available as downloadable pdfs. You will need to log in using your AMSN website/membership login. If you do not have an AMSN website/membership login, you will be prompted to create one before you can continue to the application; this allows you to return to your application at any time and your progress will be saved in the event you cannot complete in one sitting.

What is the submission deadline for the AMSN PRISM Award?

There is no deadline for submitting the AMSN PRISM Award application. Applications will be accepted at any time.

What is the success rate for achieving the AMSN PRISM Award?

An average of 26 applications are submitted each year for the AMSN PRISM Award, and our current acceptance rate is 54%.

Application Resources

The following resources may help your unit prepare for and manage the AMSN PRISM Award Application:

• Nuts and Bolts of the Application Process - A free Convention Session in the AMSN Online Library. You be prompted to log in first to view this session. If you don't have an account, you can set up a free account right there.

View Recent AMSN PRISM Award Recipients