Coral Hawley, a registered nurse at Rutland Regional Medical Center, was presented in April with the 2023 Carol P Welsh, RN, Nursing Education Scholarship. The award is named for Rutland Regional's long-time director of surgical services, who died in 2011.
Hawley, who works in the medical center's Ambulatory Care Unit and Post Anesthesia Care Unit, plans to use the scholarship to continue her education on the use of alternative therapies in patient care.
"I really enjoy this work, and I look forward to disseminating what I've learned throughout the organization," said Hawley. "My hope is that this information will help increase the use of alternative medicine so patients can decrease the amount of narcotics and pain medications they might need."
Rutland Regional's Nursing Excellence Team surprised Hawley with the award by enticing outside to the hospital gardens for what she thought was an impromptu meeting. She soon realized, however, that the "meeting" was all about her achievement.