Ayda Nambayan, DSN, RN, Receives 2012 ONS International Award for Contributions to Cancer Care

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Ayda G. Nambayan, DSN, RN, is the 2012 recipient of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Pearl Moore International Award for Contributions to Cancer Care. Nambayan is Consultant for Advanced Education and Professional Training and Director of Nursing Education and Research at The Cancer Center, Makati Medical Center, in Manila, Philippines.

The award recognizes Nambayan’s contributions for dedication to improving cancer care by educating and training nurses in the oncology specialty in the Philippines. She was honored for the award at ONS’s recent 37th Annual Congress in New Orleans, LA.

Nambayan designed and implemented a nurse clinician project at the Makati Medical Center that provides in-depth education in cancer science that is easily translated into the care of patients with cancer. The nurses she trained are being groomed to be trainers as well. They are active in community education on cancer prevention and early detection in both rural and urban areas of the country. She was recently elected to the Philippine Oncology Nurses Association (PONA) board of directors and is co-chair of the development of standards and competencies for oncology nursing practice, which will be the first of its kind in the practice of professional nursing in the Philippines. She also has worked collaboratively with the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) through the Nurse Fellowship program where she mentored nurses from Africa and Asia.

“I feel honored yet humbled,” said Nambayan. “This award tells me that I made the right decision when I changed my career path from academics to international work. The challenges and the rewards are different. I just hope that by receiving this award, the challenge of empowering nurses to influence the care they provide to the patients and their families will be better facilitated, creating empowered patients making right cancer care decisions.”

Nambayan is a member of the ONS Transcultural Nursing Issues and Management and Program Development Special Interest Groups, the Central Alabama and Memphis Area Chapters of ONS, and the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care. She is a board member of PONA and a volunteer, reviewer, and mentor for the UICC.

Nambayan received her bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, her master’s in education degree with a major in nursing from the Teacher’s College at Columbia University in New York, NY, and her doctor of science in nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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