Dubai: Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award – a UAE-based award instituted to recognise inspirational work done by nurses from around the world, on Tuesday announced its top 10 finalists hailing from across the world.
The organisers named the finalists as Cathy Cribben-Pearse from the UAE, Christine Mawia Sammy from Kenya, Gloria Ceballo from Panama, Jincy Jerry from Ireland, Lilian Yew Siew Mee from Singapore, Margaret Helen Shepherd from England, Michael Joseph Dino from Philippines, Shanti Teresa Lakra from India, Teresa Fraga from Portugal, and Wilson Fungameza Gwessa from Tanzania.
These nurses have been selected from more than 52,000 nurses who registered for the award from over 202 countries, through a stringent review process run independently by Ernst & Young LLP, a Screening-Jury and the Grand Jury.
Dr. Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, said, “Millions of nurses across the world are working hard every single day to serve their patients and form the core of the healthcare eco-system. Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award is our way of acknowledging their dedication and recognising their work.”
“This year, with more than 50,000 nurses vying for the coveted award, it has been a hard task for the eminent jury members to shortlist the top 10 outstanding nurses. Each of the finalists has a remarkable trajectory and has made significant contribution to the field of nursing. We wish each of them all the very best.”
He added: “With more than 8000 nurses working across Aster DM Healthcare’s facilities across seven countries, we have witnessed the commitment and efforts put in by nurses very closely. This is the least we can do to shine a spotlight on the work being done by the nursing community globally.”
Public voting
While one winner will be awarded the grand prize of USD 250,000, the other nine finalists will also be recognised. The final round will consist of public voting for each of the nurses starting from next week and in-person interview with the Grand Jury.
The members of the Grand Jury consist of Howard Catton – CEO, International Council of Nurses, Switzerland; Prof. Sheila Tlou - Co-Chairperson, Global HIV Prevention Coalition and Ex - Minister of Health and Member of Parliament – Govt. of Botswana; Prof. James Buchan - Adjunct Professor, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing; Dr. J Carolyn Gomes, Vice-Chair of the Strategy Committee - The Global Fund Board and Board Member of The Developing Country NGO Delegation to the GF Board; Dr. Peter Carter, an OBE awardee, an independent healthcare consultant and former CEO of the Royal College of Nursing; and Dr. Niti Pall -Senior Digital Advisor for AXA (EC), Board Chair of Harbr and Managing Director of Health4all advisory.
The final winner would be announced at a gala event at Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, UK on May 12, International Nurses Day.
Meet the UAE finalist
Cathy Cribben-Pearse, OakTree Mentoring is the finalist from the UAE. With a career spanning over 20 years, Cathy has worked as a nursing leader in NHS London and most recently served as the Director of Nursing at one of the leading hospitals in UAE (Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi). With her firsthand experience, she identified a need gap for nurses and midwives to find supportive counsel during difficult times like the pandemic, mentorship to support career growth and guidance to manage adverse situations. As a certified coach, she started offering her service pro-bono, mentoring online via zoom and soon she had nurses from around the world seeking her help.
She gave up her full-time job to start OakTree Mentoring as an effort to build a global mentoring programme bringing onboard 200 nurses and midwives from various countries, and within six months it was accredited by EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) Global. They also signed a collaboration with Art of Mentoring in Australia. She and her team of mentors regularly speak to children in schools to inspire and encourage a career in nursing.
More details about all the top 10 finalists can be seen on the website of Aster Guardians.
