AWHONN Lifetime Achievement Award

The AWHONN Lifetime Achievement Award is the Association's highest honor, recognizing an AWHONN member whose career has made extraordinary and lasting contributions to women’s health, obstetric, and neonatal nursing. This award celebrates sustained excellence in professional practice, leadership, scholarship, advocacy, mentorship, and service to both the profession and AWHONN.

Nominations are encouraged for members whose lifelong achievements have advanced nursing, improved the health of women and newborns, and left a lasting legacy on the profession. AWHONN members are encouraged to nominate colleagues whose achievements have made a meaningful impact on patients, the nursing profession, and the communities they serve. Selected nominees will then be invited to and have additional time to complete a full award application. Nominations for the 2027 Lifetime Achievement Award have closed. 

All Lifetime Achievement Award candidates should demonstrate:

  • A distinguished career with sustained contributions to women’s health, obstetric, or neonatal nursing.
  • Exceptional professional expertise and leadership that has advanced nursing practice.
  • Meaningful contributions to the profession through scholarship, education, advocacy, mentorship, or innovation.
  •  Lasting impact on patient care, healthcare systems, public policy, or professional practice.
  • Significant service to AWHONN through leadership, volunteerism, or advancement of the Association's mission.
  • A career that reflects the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and commitment to improving the health of women and newborns.

Eligibility Requirements

  • All applicants must be a registered nurse; current or retired.
  • Have held active voting membership for a cumulative minimum of ten (10) years as of the final day of the nomination period (“Nomination Deadline”). These years need not be consecutive, provided that any gaps in voting membership do not exceed twelve (12) months in total.
  • Have maintained continuous active voting membership, without lapse or interruption, for at least five (5) consecutive years immediately preceding the Nomination Deadline. The five-year period shall be calculated by looking back five (5) years from the Nomination Deadline, and the candidate must have maintained active voting membership throughout that entire period.
  • Any periods of non-membership between active voting membership periods, whether a single gap or multiple gaps, may not exceed twelve (12) months in the aggregate. A candidate exceeding this limit is not eligible, even if the ten-year cumulative and five-year continuous membership requirements are otherwise met.
  • Current AWHONN Board members, National Committee Chairs, Awards Committee members, and AWHONN staff are not eligible during their term of service and for two (2) years following the completion of their service.
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Additional Information

  • Candidates can be nominated for multiple awards but will only be considered for one. They can either specify their chosen award when submitting materials or if they submit applications for multiple awards; they will be asked to choose one award for which they would like to be considered before judging commences.
  • Following selection as an honoree, an awardee is ineligible to receive any further awards for a minimum period of three (3) years.
  • Once a recipient has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, they are ineligible to receive the award for a second time. This recognition is limited to a single occurrence per individual.
  • Award recipients may be invited to serve on a future Award Workgroup.
  • The number of applicants in each category will not be disclosed to any candidate to maintain fairness.
  • AWHONN prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including text generators, paraphrasers, summarizers, and translators, in the preparation or submission of award applications. Applicants must submit original work and may be required to certify that AI tools were not used. AWHONN reserves the right to use appropriate review methods to verify compliance with this policy. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in disqualification of the application.

Recognition & Benefits

  • Award recipients are recognized during the AWHONN Convention
  • Travel-related expenses will be reimbursed to award honorees following the Convention in accordance with AWHONN reimbursement procedures. If an honoree requires advance arrangements for travel-related expenses, AWHONN will work with the individual to make appropriate accommodation whenever possible.

The deadline to submit your nomination for the 2027 Lifetime Achievement Award have passed. For questions, please reach out to awards@awhonn.org.