by Beth Hill
The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) has conferred two prestigious awards to City of Hope Cancer Center’s Rose Virani, R.N.C., M.H.A., O.C.N., senior research specialist in the Department of Nursing Research & Education.
Virani was awarded the ONS Excellence in Supportive Care Award for her excellence and dedication to supportive care, including psychosocial support, symptom management and palliative care. The award is supported by Merck & Co. Inc.
She also received the ONS Mary Nowotny Excellence in Cancer Nursing Education Award for her work in palliative care education. The award, named in memory of Dr. Mary Nowotny, a past chair of the ONS Education Committee and a well known oncology nurse educator and teacher, is supported by Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories.
"The awards are judged by completely different judge panels, so it is quite an honor to receive more than one award in the same year," said Jeanette Kent, public relations assistant, ONS.
"Receiving the ONS Mary Nowotny Excellence in Cancer Nursing Education Award for my work on the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium project (ELNEC) demonstrates the importance and impact that project has had on nurses nationally in providing education on palliative care in oncology," Virani said. "The ONS Excellence in Supportive Care Award has a special meaning for me and the ELNEC team in knowing the awareness and the impact that this project has on nursing palliative care education and the care of patients and their families."
Virani, a native of Pasadena now living in Upland, Calif., received her Associate of Science in Nursing degree from Pasadena City College, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from California State Universities Consortium in Dominguez Hills, Calif., and her master’s degree in health care administration from the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, Calif.
She is an active member of the ONS hospice special interest group (SIG) and the cancer management and program development SIG. She is also the president-elect of the Inland Empire Chapter and a past board member of the South Bay California Chapter and the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ONS. Virani is also a member of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
ONS is a professional organization of more than 33,000 registered nurses and other health care providers dedicated to excellence in patient care, education, research and administration in oncology nursing. The largest professional oncology association in the world, ONS maintains a Web site at www.ons.org.
