February 5, 2010

Hazinski named a resuscitation medicine ‘Giant’

Hazinski named a resuscitation medicine ‘Giant’

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing's Mary Fran Hazinski, M.S.N., R.N., has been named a “Giant of Resuscitation Medicine” by the international council responsible for developing consensus statements for resuscitation and advanced life support.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) selected Hazinski as one of five recipients of the 2010 “Giant” award for her career contributions to resuscitation science.

Mary Fran Hazinski, M.S.N., R.N.

Mary Fran Hazinski, M.S.N., R.N.

The accomplishments noted in Hazinski's selection announcement included her work as a pediatric critical care clinical nurse specialist, teacher and author.

The award cited her injury prevention activities in the Vanderbilt Children's Traffic Safety Program and her study of the accuracy of automated external defibrillator (AED) in interpreting pediatric rhythms.

“I have been privileged to be mentored by, work with, and learn from many of the previously honored resuscitation giants and many more who have yet to receive awards,” Hazinski said.

“I am humbled and inspired by the dedicated scientists in the American Heart Association, in the international resuscitation community and at Vanderbilt who work so hard to save lives.”

In the selection announcement, ILCOR noted Hazinski's “profound and permanent impact on the international resuscitation community.”

“Hazinski edited the 2005 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC, a document that was accessed online more than 2.4 million times in the first 16 months after its release, making it the most accessed guidelines or scientific statement in AHA history,” the ILCOR announcement stated.

Hazinski was honored Feb. 3 at the ILCOR 2010 International Consensus Conference in Addison, Texas. She will co-edit the 2010 ILCOR Consensus on CPR and ECC Science with Treatment Recommendations statement and the 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. Both will be published in Resuscitation and Circulation in October.

In addition to teaching in the School of Nursing, Hazinski is a clinical nurse specialist in pediatric critical care at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

She holds an adjunct appointment as an assistant in the Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.