Helping save lives and restore health for critically burned Soldiers has earned a prestigious award for Maj. Elizabeth A. Mann. The Daughters of the American Revolution presented her the Anita Newcomb McGee Award, which is given to one Army Nurse Corps officer each year.
Mann was honored for outstanding work as clinical nurse specialist for the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, which operates the famed Army Burn Center at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She recently left this position to begin her course of study for a Doctor of Philosophy degree in nursing research at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston, Texas.
"The DAR is so patriotic and has such a great tradition of service, to be recognized by them was fantastic," Mann said. "The previous awardees I look to as my role models. To be in that cohort is the greatest honor of my career."
As clinical nurse specialist, Mann provided educational opportunities for ISR's staff, gave lectures on managing burn patients, facilitated clinical research and developed evidence-based clinical practice guidelines
She took a particular interest in promoting clinical research, for which she received the Circle of Excellence Award for Research from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.
Among the research projects she has worked on at ISR: developing mathematical factors to correct bedside glucometers for anemia in critically-ill patients; the effect of cranial electrotherapy stimulation on symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in burn outpatients; and computer decision support for management of insulin infusions in the burn intensive-care unit. She helped develop a computer decision support system for initial burn resuscitation that has been deployed to combat support hospitals in Iraq.
"It's been the best job possible in the Army Nurse Corps. You can effect change organizationally to put systems in place that endure after you leave. I think the patients are special. It's been a privilege to work here. It's my dream job. I've proven we need clinical nurse specialists in ISR."
At ISR she previously served as head nurse for the intensive care unit of the Army Burn Center, and she was a member of the Army Burn Flight Team that deployed to attend critical burn patients during transport to the center.
Other previous assignments include commander of an Army Medical Department recruiting team in New Orleans, La., and assistant head nurse for the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Germany and Kosovo.
Mann has a Bachelor's degree in nursing from Emory University and a Master of Science degree as a critical care clinical nurse specialist from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colo. She also has completed the Command and General Staff College.
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