Donna M. Furlong, RN, BSN, Named Professional of the Year in Postoperative Cardiac Surgery Nursing

    BOSTON, November 21, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Donna M. Furlong, Registered Nurse of Massachusetts General Hospital, has been named a Worldwide Branding Professional of the Year in Cardiac Surgery Nursing. While inclusion in Worldwide Branding is an honor, only a small selection of members in each discipline is chosen for this distinction. These special honorees are distinguished based on their professional accomplishments, academic achievements, leadership abilities, years of service, and the credentials they have provided in association with their Worldwide Branding membership.

Ms. Furlong has 41 years of nursing experience, with 34 years of that experience as a registered nurse in the Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. On a daily basis, she is responsible for administering immediate postoperative care for cardiac surgery patients, and building relationships with patients and their families. She also precepts critical care nurses and new graduates, and acts as a resource nurse in the unit. In addition, she has experience in Infusion Therapy, administering intravenous medications and fluids to patients in their homes, in the Greater Boston Area.

Ms. Furlong received a letter of support from her clinical nurse specialist stating, "[Her] nursing practice embodies the core values and philosophy of the ideal nurse, while [she], herself, is the example of what someone looks like who loves to come to work every day." Ms. Furlong also received a heartfelt thank-you letter from a husband of a young patient she cared for, who thought he had to plan for a life as a single father of a 3-year-old daughter, once his wife entered the CSICU in December, 2012. He respected the comfort, assurance, and tough love that Ms. Furlong provided his wife when she was about to give up on her survival; 10 weeks later, his wife was transferred to the RACU.

Ms. Furlong is guided by a belief in a shared humanity, and embraces the essence of nursing not as something you do, but rather as a translation of something that you are. Ms. Furlong adheres to the following mantra: "New nurses are our future, and we need to be committed to their success." She is fueled by the enthusiasm brought in by each new generation of nurses. A single mother, she is proud to have raised her two children on her own.

Looking back, Ms. Furlong attributes her success to her passion for her profession. She became involved in her profession because it is who she is, not what she does. She considers herself a person who handles crises well and enjoys the fast pace of the intensive care unit. The highlight of her career was being formally recognized as a clinical scholar by Massachusetts General Hospital.

Ms. Furlong received a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Salem State College, which is Now Salem State University, in 1984. She became a registered nurse through The Cooley Dickinson Hospital School of Nursing in 1973. In addition to her degree and formal education, she has also been certified as a new graduate critical care nurse preceptor through Massachusetts General Hospital. She has been a member of the Project Team for Electronic Medication Administration Program and Patient Safety, the Cardiac Nursing Practice Committee, the Clinical Pathways Committee (2006), and also a member of the 'start up' Training Team, Cardiac Surgery Unit, North Shore Medical Center (2003). Ms. Furlong has received several awards recognizing her for her talent and hard work. Chief among these awards are a Partners in Excellence Team Award, presented to the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator (ECMO) Team at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2012, a Pro-Files Magazine Feature in 2011, recognition as being among Who's Who Top 101 Industry Experts in her field of nursing, and as an Elite American Nurse in 2010. In 2004 and 2007, she was presented with an award for excellence in action through the cardiac surgery intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Donna has been a member, since 1995, of a non-profit organization, Friends Fighting Breast Cancer, a volunteer fundraising group who has raised a million dollars for breast cancer research with 100% of the proceeds directed to The Center for Cancer Risk Analysis at Massachusetts General Hospital. In years to come, Ms. Furlong plans to continue as a registered nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital and spend more time traveling.

For more information about Massachusetts General Hospital, visit http://www.massgeneral.org.

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Contact:
Ellen Campbell
Director, Media Relations
[email protected]

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