Two more teachers from the Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC) were recognized by Sigma Europe (Honor Society of Nursing) for professional excellence in “Clinical Practice” and “Research”: Marília Costa Flora and Vitor Sérgio de Oliveira Parola, respectively.
Marília Flora was awarded the Sigma EU Nursing Excellent Recognition for Clinical Practice 2022. She holds a Master’s in Child Health and Pediatric Nursing and is a Ph.D. student in Nursing. Vítor Parola was awarded the Sigma EU Nursing Excellent Recognition for Research 2022. He holds a Ph.D. in Nursing Science, a Master’s in Palliative Care, and a Master’s in Health Sciences Research.
The recognition awarded to Marília Flora is based on her professional contribution to the clinical practice of Child Health and Pediatric Nursing and the relevance of the research project “Impact of a Self-Management Program for Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus”, which the ESEnfC teacher is currently developing within the scope of her doctoral degree in Nursing. According to the teacher, this project allowed her “to explore other nursing intervention settings, such as summer camps for adolescents with diabetes”.
“The intervention in summer camps allowed us to understand the real needs of adolescents in informal settings, complementing hospital and community care, helping adolescents to develop disease self-management skills, and promoting their autonomy in decision-making,” says the laureate.
As a specialist nurse, Marília Flora assumed “differentiated tasks in child/adolescent and family care in highly complex situations”, as well as “in urgent/emergency care”, being recognized for her “career in Primary Health Care, where she worked in the areas of school health and early intervention, prevention of disease complications, and health promotion, early identifying vulnerability points”.
Vítor Parola received this award as a recognition of his scientific productivity within the scope of the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E) of the ESEnfC, which, according to him, “has maintained a clear focus on evidence-based practice in gerontogeriatric, rehabilitation, and palliative care nursing “.
“The recognition is also the result of the involvement in several national and international R&D (research and development) projects. For example, a national study to develop an advanced rehabilitation system for people who are bedridden and/or have prolonged immobilization, intending to create an innovative device with a real impact on clinical practice. Another example, given the reality experienced in recent years, is an international study to monitor the safety of vaccines against COVID-19,” says Professor Vítor Parola.
For the nurse specialist in Rehabilitation Nursing and Medical-Surgical Nursing and in Palliative Care Nursing, “this recognition means that the path taken so far is the right one” and that “Nursing needs production and continuous renewal of its own body of knowledge, which is ensured by research”, by seeking to “anticipate needs and respond to new challenges with rigor, effectiveness, and efficiency”.
[2022-12-22]
