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The Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology


Nomination Guidelines

We dedicate this award to the memory of the late Mary Pazdur, NP, whose life and career were instrumental in creation of the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO). The Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology recognizes and honors an advanced practitioner (AP) member of the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) who demonstrates exemplary leadership and makes outstanding contributions in the areas of clinical practice, research, education, collaboration and/or mentorship.

The APSHO Board of Directors and Awards and Recognition Committee invite you to nominate a deserving advanced practitioner member of APSHO, defined as a nurse practitioner (NP), physician assistant (PA), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), or pharmacist (PharmD) for consideration of this prestigious award. The recipient of the 2023 Mary Pazdur Award will be recognized during the JADPRO Live conference November 9-12, 2023. Please see the nomination criteria and award details below. For more information on JADPRO Live, please visit the conference website, JADPROLive.com.

The nomination submission deadline is 11:59pm EDT on Monday, May 1, 2023.

Nominator Requirements
Nominations may be submitted by current or former colleagues (within two years) of the nominee. The nominator is not required to practice at the same institution or location as the nominee, but should be able to provide a clear description of the qualifications and experience of the nominee through a shared professional oncology/hematology experience, with current relevance and letters of support. The nominator may be an advanced practitioner, physician, or a colleague of a different discipline. The nominator does not have to be a member of APSHO. Self-nominations will not be considered for this award.

Nominee Criteria

The nominee must be a member of APSHO and an advanced practitioner, defined as a nurse practitioner, physician assistant (PA), clinical nurse specialist, or pharmacist.

Current practice or role of the nominee:
The nominee must have a minimum of five years of experience in oncology/hematology and be currently practicing in one or more of the following roles:
  • Clinical practice
    • Direct patient care as provider and/or prescriber; collaborative care with physicians or within an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary team; provision of care during clinical trials, procedures, symptom management, and treatment or level-of-care decisions
    • Settings may include an academic medical center, comprehensive cancer center, community cancer center, hospital inpatient, outpatient hospital-based cancer center, private practice, palliative care, or hospice
  • Quantitative or qualitative research
    • Principal investigator or co-investigator experience, protocol development, review board correspondence, patient recruitment and consent, direct patient care, grading and management of adverse events, data collection, data analysis, reporting or presentation, and/or publication
  • Committee or other collaborative work
    • Involvement or leadership in tumor boards, guideline development, policy development, education, professional society work/contributions, publication, health care policy work
  • Leadership
    • Clinic supervision, administration, team education, development of pilot projects, advanced practice specialty clinics, private practice, mentoring, program development
  • Education
    • Faculty, curriculum development, advisor, speaker/presenter, team education, mentoring, professional development
  • Advocacy
    • Patient/caregiver advocacy work, mentoring programs, health care policy work, community education, event organization, program development

Nominee characteristics:
A nominee should possess and demonstrate excellence, passion, empathy, leadership, ethics, positive influence, vision, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Nominee work and contributions:
Nominees must exhibit evidence of contributions to oncology/hematology in areas such as clinical practice, research, quality improvement, guideline development, collaborative practice/projects, AP-led projects, mentorship, or oncology/hematology literature. Nominators are encouraged to provide as much information as possible regarding the contributions of the nominee.

Eligibility:
The following individuals are NOT eligible for the award at this time:
  • APSHO Board of Directors – current term and for one year post-term
  • APSHO Awards and Recognition Committee - current membership or chair term
  • JADPRO Live Planning Committee and/or conference chair – current term
  • Advanced practitioners not currently working in oncology/hematology (such as working in a different specialty or in retirement)
  • Advanced practitioners who are not members of APSHO

Nomination Submission Requirements

The nominator should submit the following information regarding the nominee and include supporting documentation. A nomination will not be considered for review without the following:
  • Full name, credentials, title/position, institution, email and phone number of the nominator
  • Full name, credentials, title/position, institution, email and phone number of the nominee
  • Cover letter for the nomination, to include:
    • An introduction and description of the nominator’s professional relationship to nominee
  • Separate essay on why this person is being nominated, to include:
    • Description of nominee attributes
    • Nominee's key contributions to oncology/hematology, using descriptive examples
    • Highlights of the nominee's APSHO involvement and contributions
    • Statement as to why this person should receive the award
  • Letters of recommendation from two additional sources, that include:
    • Full name, credentials, title/position, institution, email and phone number of the sources
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the nominee required (a current CV is preferred, but may be within the past 6-12 months)
  • Additional supporting documentation or statements the nominator would like to provide

*Letters of recommendation must come from current or recent colleagues (within two years) who can add to or support the narrative of the nominator regarding the qualifications and experience of the nominee. For this purpose, a colleague may or may not be an advanced practitioner but should also be able to express support through a shared professional oncology/hematology experience.

Submission requirements must be met and approved for a nomination to move into the review process. If there are questions regarding the information submitted in a nomination, the nominator will be notified by the nomination coordinator for the APSHO Awards and Recognition Committee.

Nominee Review Process

All nominations meeting submission requirements will undergo review by members and leadership of the APSHO Awards and Recognition Committee via the electronic submission system. The committee may contact nominators with questions regarding the information in the nomination and may also contact sources of the supporting letters of recommendation. During the review process, the committee may contact nominees with questions or for additional information.

Nomination Review Period

The nomination review period will be May 2 – May 31, 2023.

Nominee Selection

Once nomination reviews are complete, the selection of the 2023 award recipient will be determined by the APSHO Awards and Recognition Committee in June 2023. The committee will first notify the nominator and award recipient. Once acceptance is confirmed, all remaining nominators and their nominees will be notified.

The award recipient will receive $5,000, recognition during the JADPRO Live conference, a trip to JADPRO Live 2023 (including registration to the JADPRO Live conference, hotel accommodations for 3 nights at the Marriott Orlando World Center, November 9–12, 2023, roundtrip airfare, and hotel transfers); and recognition at the conference as well as in an issue of the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO) and the APSHO Advance member newsletter.

Please refer to The Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology Official Rules for additional information. The official rules can be found at MaryPazdurAward.com.

The top five, highest-scoring, eligible nominations that are not selected for this year's award will automatically roll forward for a second-year review in 2024. Consent and pertinent updates for the second review will be obtained from the nominee and nominator. If a top-scoring nominee has previously rolled forward, the nominator will be notified, as subsequent nominations beyond one rollover must be submitted as a new nomination.

Download a copy of the guidelines and official rules:
Mary Pazdur Award Nomination Guidelines and Official Rules 2023

Accessing the Nomination Submission System

Nominators may access the nomination portal below by clicking on “Access Now" in the New Users box and creating an account. Nominators will also be able to access and download a copy of the guidelines and official rules once inside the nomination portal. Nominators may save work their work in progress and access the nomination up until the submission deadline. Submissions that are incomplete at the time of the deadline will no longer be accessible.

For questions or concerns about the nomination process of The Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology, contact the nomination coordinator, Kelley Moore, via kelley.moore@broadcastmed.com.

For more information about Mary Pazdur and this award dedicated to her memory, please visit MaryPazdurAward.com.

The nomination submission deadline is 11:59pm EDT on Monday, May 1, 2023.

Log in to the Nomination ScoreCard

Questions? Organizer: Kelley Moore -