2001 News

The Honorable Syringa Marshall Burnett receives the 2001 CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award

PHILADELPHIA, PA — NOVEMBER 1, 2001 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the 2001 CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award to the Honorable Syringa Marshall Burnett, CD, MA, BAScN, PHN, HNS, RM, RGN, President of the Senate, Jamaica, West Indies, and Chair, Department of Advance Nursing Education, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona.

The CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award was established to recognize individuals or organizations who have demonstrated outstanding international, professional and personal achievement that serves as a model for success in the global health care community. This is the inaugural year for the award, which will be bestowed annually by the CGFNS Board of Trustees.

The award consists of a commemorative plaque, a sponsored symposium in the leadership area of the recipient and a reception and tribute dinner in honor of the recipient the evening of the symposium. This year’s symposium and tribute dinner, which honored the Honorable Dr. Burnett, was held October 31, 2001, at the Westin Hotel in Philadelphia.

The symposium, Globalization: International Health Policy and Nursing, acknowledged Dr. Burnett’s more than 30 years in nursing education and research, as well as her superior leadership in the Jamaican Senate where she has served as President since 1995. Speakers at the symposium were designated as Adele Herwitz Distinguished Scholars and received a commemorative plaque. CGFNS created the Adele Herwitz Distinguished Scholars distinction in honor of CGFNS’s founding Executive Director. This year’s speakers and Adele Herwitz Distinguished Scholars were: The Honorable Dr. Richard L. Bernal, Jamaican Representative to the World Trade Organization, Dr. Lucille A. Joel, RN, FAAN, ICN Representative and CGFNS Board of Trustees Member, and Elizabeth A. Downes, MSN, RN-C, FNP, Assistant Professor and Academic Program Coordinator, Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory Univeristy.

Ms. Downes began the symposium with a presentation on nursing’s role in the global health care system and how the advancement of nursing will lead to enhanced health care for people worldwide. Following Ms. Downes' speech, Dr. Joel gave a history on the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and discussed country relations, issues and differences among ICN member nations. Dr. Bernal spoke about globalization of the professions and the need to balance national interests and international opportunities in the determination of health policy and the provision of health care, and Dr. Burnett concluded the symposium with a presentation on nursing in the Caribbean.

Following the symposium, the evening kicked off with a reception, featuring the music of the renowned Richard Rome Trio and a chance to meet the award recipient. Then, CGFNS hosted a tribute dinner toasting Dr. Burnett. Tribute speakers such as Dr. Basil Bryan, Jamaican Consul General, Dr. Patricia Ivers, General Secretary of the Jamaican Nurses Association, Dr. Diana Mason, Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Nursing, Dr. Lucille Joel, ICN Representative and CGFNS Board of Trustees Member, and Dr. Beverly Bonaparte, CGFNS Board of Trustees Member, honored the award recipient. Following the presentation of the 2001 CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award was a musical salute by the Steel Kings, a Caribbean steel drum band, to conclude the evening.

CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, PA, USA, and is an internationally recognized authority on education, registration and licensure of nurses and health care professionals worldwide. CGFNS’s mission is to provide responsible leadership in the delivery of relevant services to the global nursing and health care community. The organization was founded in 1977 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor; Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services); the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and representation from nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing. For additional information about CGFNS and its services, contact: Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: (215) 349-8767; fax: (215) 349-0026.