Long a globally known expert in disaster nursing, Tener G. Veenema, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, has been celebrated once again for her efforts as a volunteer and educator with the 2013 Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve. Veenema is one of five U.S. recipients, and one of 32 worldwide.
Instituted in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Nightingale Medal is awarded to nurses or nursing aides for “exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick, or disabled or to civilian victims of a conflict or disaster” as well as for exemplary service or a pioneering spirit in public health or nursing education.
Veenema, recently appointed Associate Professor on the Practice Track in the Department of Community-Public Health, has been a volunteer American Red Cross nurse for more than 25 years and serves as an invited member of the organization’s National Scientific Advisory Committee.