Nominations Now Open for Third Annual Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award

Cancer Nursing Today is now accepting nominations for the Third Annual Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award, providing a critical opportunity to recognize oncology nurses and advanced practitioners who provide important cancer care across the continuum.

The nomination process involves completing the simple form below. Nurses and advanced practitioners in all areas of practice along the cancer care continuum are eligible for nomination.

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A blinded selection committee of oncology nurses and advanced practitioners will review nominations to select finalists, who will be announced and advanced to a public voting process in August 2025. The winner of the Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award will receive a prize (valued at $1,000) and be recognized by Cancer Nursing Today for their commitment to this important profession.

About the CARE Award

Established in 2023, the Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award encourages healthcare professionals to reflect on their nursing and advanced practice colleagues’ dedication, resilience, and strength throughout the nomination and voting process.

The CARE Award recognizes an oncology nurse or advanced practitioner who demonstrates:

• Commitment to professional growth
• Attention and dedication to role modeling
• Resilience in uncertain and strenuous times
• Emotional intelligence in every situation

In its first two years, the CARE Award garnered numerous nominations and thousands of votes for finalists. The winner of the Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award receives a prize (valued at $1,000) and is recognized by Cancer Nursing Today for their commitment to this important profession.

“The more recognition for nursing and oncology nurses we have, the better, because it promotes the practice of nurses as a profession and therefore better patient care, and we become more respected,” said Jennifer Margolis, BSN, RN, OCN, BMTCN, of Rush University Medical Center, upon receiving the Second Annual Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award in September 2024.

Colleen Bruen, BSN, RN, BMTCN, of Rush University Medical Center, who nominated Margolis for the Second Annual CARE Award, explained she was thrilled “to take the opportunity to recognize her on such a grand scale.”

“I nominated Jen because she is definitely a standout nurse on our team. She has been working alongside me for years, and it’s been a tremendous honor to work beside her,” Bruen said upon Margolis receiving the Second Annual Cancer Nursing Today CARE Award. “I started in a role that wasn’t quite the same as Jen’s, but we were on the same team, and she took me under her wing from day one… I’ve seen her do that for so many other nurses in addition to advanced practice providers and physicians who have come into the team under some stressful conditions and circumstances.”

Bruen also shared why it’s so critical to provide opportunities to recognize and honor the work of oncology nurses.

“We have a lot of sad days and a lot of sad moments, but it’s really important to nominate our colleagues when we think that they’re doing a really good job because burnout in this field can be high,” Bruen said. “When someone like Jen has made a career of working with cancer patients, she’s really modelled what it takes to do this job well and to be a great leader, role model, and mentor to others. I do think it’s very important to recognize colleagues whenever the opportunity presents itself, and this was a prime opportunity to do so.”

Visit Cancer Nursing Today at Booth #3003 at the 50th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress to submit a CARE Award nomination in person, participate in an exclusive on-site photo opportunity for nominators, and more. The event will be held in Denver, Colorado, from April 9-12, 2025. Nominations can also be submitted online. All nominations must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PT on June 15, 2025.

Whether you’re nominating on-site at the Oncology Nursing Society Congress or online, show that you’re proud to participate in the CARE Award nomination process by tagging @cancer_nurses and using the hashtags #CancerNursesCARE and #CAREaward2025.