Awards & Recognition

Sentara recognizes you’re looking for an employer that fits your individual needs and supports development and growth, both professionally and personally. We thought you should know about some of the awards and recognitions our nurses and nursing programs have received, as these awards speak to

the heart of who we are: a nursing program that inspires excellence in medical care while providing a highly desirable work culture and meaningful benefits for our nurses.

Magnet Recognition Program®: Elevating Quality Patient Care

The American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Recognition Program® is a prestigious honor recognizing organizations that truly value nursing talent. Not merely a badge of honor, this award is steadfast proof of our hard-earned commitment to excellence in health care, with contented nurses at its heart. 

The award recognizes organizations delivering quality patient care, nursing excellence, and pioneering innovations in professional nursing. Magnet® recognition is one criterion for national hospital rankings and quality benchmarking programs. The American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet® recognition credential provides a roadmap to advance nursing excellence. Sentara Health has multiple designated Magnet® hospitals.

The Magnet Recognition Program identifies health organizations committed to lower nurse attrition and an improved patient experience. As a nurse at Sentara, Magnet Recognition signifies to you that our culture is supported by steadfast investment in nursing education and development, ensuring that nurses are supported in their chosen career path.

A growing body of research indicates that Magnet organizations such as Sentara are associated with key nursing satisfaction elements such as: 

• Lower nurse dissatisfaction and nurse burnout;
• Higher nurse job satisfaction; and
• Lower registered nurse (RN) turnover.

Discover the Value of AACN Beacon Awards for Nurses 

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Beacon Award recognizes a unit’s commitment to a nurturing work environment and fostering collaboration among colleagues and leaders. To nurses, this award signifies an independent validation of a positive and supportive work environment with greater collaboration, higher morale and lower turnover.

With three levels—bronze, silver, and gold—the Beacon Award allows units to track their excellence journey over time, earning a three-year designation. Sentara boasts multiple units that have not only achieved but also maintained this outstanding distinction.

Sentara Nursing Partners with The DAISY Foundation™ 

Sentara Nursing proudly collaborates with The DAISY Foundation™ across all divisions. This partnership serves as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude toward nurses who exemplify compassionate care. The award is a special honor given to extraordinary nurses for the compassionate contributions they make every day, going above and beyond expectations. It honors dedication to career through education, training, and the empathy, compassion, and understanding nurses bring to patient care.

As part of their goal to provide ways to help nurses advance their career, DAISY Award recipients are entitled to Honoree benefits throughout their career, as being a DAISY Honoree is a life-long designation. Benefits include opportunities in education, certification, continuing education, well-being, professional engagement and more.

AMSN PRISM Award: Recognizing Excellence in Medical-Surgical Nursing The AMSN PRISM Award is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses  (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) and recognizes the phenomenal work by nurses in medical-surgical units who create a healthy work environment, develop themselves professionally and personally and provide outstanding care to patients and their families. PRISM stands for Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-surg. The AMSN PRISM Award recognizes the exemplary practice of medical-surgical units. The award is valid for a period of three years. Through this distinguished honor, AMSN and MSNCB identify and celebrate medical-surgical units that achieve sustained excellence through exhibiting:

• Effective leadership
• Recruitment and retention of competent staff members
• Evidence-based practice
• Positive patient outcomes
• Healthy work environment
• Lifelong learning of unit staff members

Sentara has several PRISM-designated units.

ENA Lantern Award: Celebrating Exceptional Emergency Departments

The ENA Lantern Award recognizes emergency departments that demonstrate exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research – a visible symbol of our commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment. The award further highlights our commitment to exceptional leadership, practice, education, advocacy, and research.