NACNS created the award to nationally recognize an NACNS member for outstanding professional achievement in the three spheres of CNS influence. The award acknowleges a nurse who demonstrates CNS competencies and exemplary practice in patient care, nursing and health care delivery systems.

	2009 Linda Gorman, MN, APRN, BC, CHPN received the 2009 CNS of the Year award. Gorman is one of the founding members of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center palliative care team and one of the essential backbones who has helped develop the team over the years. She has worked tirelessly to educate staff throughout the hospital by providing in-services to nurses, social workers, case managers and physicians on concepts of palliative care. She is a coveted lecturer and mentor for UCLA and Cal State CNS/NP students. She serves on many hospital committees and is one of the primary team that helped establish the medical center’s Nursing Research Conference as well as a nursing toolbox, which are a series of lectures and meetings for nurses to help them develop their research projects.
	2008 Susie Jones M.S., RN, APN, CCNS/Rx, CCRN-P was named CNS of the Year on March 6, 2008. Susie is a highly respected pediatric clinical nurse specialist with extensive research experience. She provides leadership, vision, consultation, project management, facilitation and education for evidence based practice and quality initiatives. She engages bedside clinicians in evidence based practice projects and nursing research that positively impact quality, patient satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. As a result of her influence, evidence based practice is now a part of the clinical culture and daily practice at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center.
	2007  Sherri Atherton received the CNS of the Year award because of her excellence in infection control nursing practice, her leadership in her employing institution's successful achievement of Magnet status and her many contributions to healthcare in the Portland VA Medical Center and the community it serves.
	2006  Theresa Murray, MSN, RN, CCRN, CCNS, received the 2006 Clinical Nurse Specialist of the Year Award. Murray, who resides in Indianapolis, is a critical care clinical nurse specialist at Community Hospital East, part of Community Health Network. In her nomination, peers and colleagues described Murray as an extraordinary clinical nurse specialist (CNS) who ³raises the practice bar² through role modeling, process/practice development and education to ensure the highest standards of quality and safety are met. In addition, Murray was recognized for her work influencing standards of care nationwide for patients on ventilators. She led the clinical team which reached the national benchmark in 2005 for no ventilator-acquired pneumonia (VAP) in more than a year at Community Hospital East.
	2005 The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) selected Karen A. Doran, RN, MSN, CNS to receive the 2005 Clinical Nurse Specialist of the Year Award. Ms. Doran resides in Ottertail, MN, and is a Cardiovascular CNS at Mercy and Unity Hospitals in Coon Rapids, MN. In her nomination, peers and colleagues described Ms. Doran as a great mentor, a great problem solver and an inspiration to staff. Ms. Doran was instrumental in the development of a cardiovascular program specifically for women. Her selection was made from nominees nationwide.
	2004 The 2004 CNS of the Year was Ann Shirah Dykes, a CNS at St. Joseph/Candler Health System in Savannah, GA. Ann demonstrates an expert level of skill and knowledge in her specialty as a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist. She holds NCC (National Certification Corporation) certifications in Inpatient Obstetrics and Fetal Monitoring, and serves her health system as the lead Neonatal Resuscitation Program instructor. An active member of AWHONN (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing). Ann is a member of NACNS and was instrumental in establishing a regional chapter of the NACNS in Southeast Georgia.
	2003 The 2003 CNS of the Year was Kathleen L Dunn, MS, RN, CRRN-A, who resides in San Diego, California. She is a Rehabilitation CNS at the Veteran Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. In her nomination, peers and colleagues described Ms. Dunn as an expert in rehabilitation who maintains impeccable standards of care and exemplifies what a CNS should be. She selflessly gives of her time and expertise to advance the science of nursing.
	2002 In 2002, Ann Herbage Busch RN, MS, CWOCN, APRN,BC, CNS was the first recipient of the CNS of the Year award.  Ann resides in West Linn, Oregon where she is a Liver Transplant CNS at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. In her nomination, peers and colleagues described Ms. Busch as an extraordinarily gifted and well-respected CNS whose holistic approach to patient care and meticulous attention to detail assure optimal patient outcomes.