Call for Nominations

2025 International Awards for Nursing Excellence

Sigma's International Awards for Nursing Excellence recognize superior achievement in developing nurse leaders anywhere to improve healthcare everywhere by connected and empowered nurse leaders. Awards are conferred to each biennium for contributions in the fields of leadership and professionalism, nursing practice, research and education, and communications. Sigma awards are presented to individuals, teams, organizations, and projects.

Eligibility: Eligibility varies by award. Please review the description and criteria for each. Current Sigma International Board of Directors, Sigma staff, Sigma consultants and contracted staff, and members of the judging committee are not eligible. Nominees can receive only one award per biennium. Nominees can accept only one nomination per biennium. Recipients from and 2021 and 2023 are not eligible to receive the same award in 2025. For eligibility questions, please contact the Awards and Development Coordinator, Laura Belt at 888.634.7575 US/Canada, +1.317.634.8171 International or awards@sigmanursing.org.

Nomination Deadline:  Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)
Chapter Key Award Nomination Deadline:  Tuesday, 15 July 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)
* The above entry submision date are for the general online nomination process. However, individual Award Programs can/may have specific deadline dates.

  1. General Online Instructions

    Submitters will be automatically informed of the unique ID numbers and passwords assigned to their nomination. Entries may be viewed and modified at any time between submission and the deadline, using the assigned ID# and password.

    The online submission system divides the submittal process into a series of steps. The applicant will complete the requirements for a step, review and save the step, then proceed to next step following the buttons at the bottom of each page. Steps must be completed in sequence. At any point prior to the deadline, you may revisit any completed step within your entry to make editorial changes. Click the applicable step in the step tab bar, edit the data, and save the step once again.

    The online submission process sends email notifications. Sometimes universities and/or institutions block these confirmation emails, mistaking them for spam. We encourage you to add stti_awards@confex.com to your address book in order to ensure you receive communication regarding your submission.

Submission Information and Guidelines:

  1. Award Criteria

    Please visit Sigma's 2025 International Awards for Nursing Excellence site for award criteria, scoring rubric and past recipients. For more information about the International Awards for Nursing Excellence, including eligibility and award criteria, please contact the Awards and Development Coordinator, Laura Belt at 888.634.7575 US/Canada, +1.317.634.8171 International or awards@sigmanursing.org

  2. Chapter Key Award Instructions/Guidelines

    Chapter Key Award Form

    Chapters are encouraged to work throughout the biennium to prepare their entries. Although the actual submission process will not be available until Friday, 1 November 2024, the Chapter Key Award form is available now to download in order to track points for the chapter. All nominators for the Chapter Key Award are required to download and complete the Chapter Key Award form (Word document). Please note, without this form, the nomination will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. All submissions are made online. The Chapter Key Award form is the only supporting material required for a Chapter Key Award nomination. Any documentation uploaded with the key form will be disregarded by the judges.

    Please note the downloadable Word document is password protected. Chapters will only be able to enter information into the allowed fields. To download the required Chapter Key Award form, simply right-click on the "Chapter Key Award form" link and then select "Save as" or "Save Target as" and then save the file to your computer. We recommend saving the file with the name "chaptername_cka_intl2025.docx"

    The 2023-2025 Chapter Key Application form is available in the All Chapter Officers Workgroup in The Circle.

    Chapter Key Award Application Instruction Guide

    The Chapter Key Award Application Instruction Guide document has been prepared to guide your chapter through the award application process. Step-by-step instructions are provided to ensure your application is completed properly and will satisfy judging requirements.

    The 2023-2025 Chapter Key Application form and instruction guide are available in the All Chapter Officers Workgroup in The Circle.

    Chapters are encouraged to work throughout the biennium to prepare their entries. Submissions for the 2025 Chapter Key Award include chapter activities from 1 July 2023 - 30 June 2025.

    Questions?

    Do you have questions about the Chapter Key Award? Would you like to discuss the submission process with other chapter leaders or would like to check eligibility status? If so, please contact chapserv@sigmanursing.org or post a question on the All Chapter Officers workgroup in The Circle.

    If you have any questions/concerns regarding the "Chapter Key Award Form" and/or "Instruction Guide" document, please contact chapserv@sigmanursing.org.

  3. Entry Fee

    Entry Fee: Each award submission requires a US $50 entry fee. Entry fees are non-refundable.

    NOTE: The fee structure for members outside the U.S. will be set according to World Bank classifications based on per capita income designated as low, middle and high. All fees paid to headquarters, either by individual members or chapters, will be calculated in U.S. currency.

    Sliding Scale for the Nurse Researcher Awards Entry Fees

    High Income = US $50
    Middle Income = US $20
    Low Income = US $10

    * Updated July 2022 based on Country GNI for 2021 per World Bank; effective until July 2023. Sigma's World Bank Country Classifications information

    For questions or concerns regarding the entry fees, please contact the Awards and Development Coordinator, Laura Belt at 888.634.7575 US/Canada, +1.317.634.8171 International or awards@sigmanursing.org.

  4. Submission Requirements

    • All award entries and supporting materials must be submitted via this online submission system. (Follow the hyperlinks on this page). Hard copies sent through the mail will NOT be accepted.
    • Submissions may be uploaded in the following file types:
      • Word document (*.doc/*.docx)
      • PDF document (*.pdf)
      • TXT document (*.txt)
      • HTML document (*.html)
      • RTF document (*.rtf)
      • GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF format (*.gif/*.jpg/*.png/*.tiff)
      • WMV, WMA, MOV, WAV, AIFF format (*.wmv/*.wma/*.mov/*.aiff)
    • Click Here for supporting document definitions
    • Submissions should NOT exceed 10 MB.
    • Award entries must be in English.
    • All communication regarding the award nomination will be sent to a designated primary contact. A valid e-mail address is required for all submitters.
    • Once you begin a submission, you will receive an e-mail giving you the submission ID# and password. These can be used if you need to access your submission at any time in the future. The ID# and password will also be helpful if there are any problems with your submission.
    • Once the deadline for submitting an award nomination has passed, an e-mail will be sent from Sigma to confirm receipt of the award submission.
    • Only complete submissions will be judged. Submissions that are incomplete after the deadline will be withdrawn from the system and will NOT be reviewed.
  5. Judging

    Qualified judging panels representing strong talent and expertise are appointed.

Begin an Entry to:

Amy J. Berman Geriatric Nursing Leadership Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Audrey Hepburn Award for Contributions to the Health and Welfare of Children
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Capstone International Nursing Book Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Chapter Key Award
Nomination Deadline: Tuesday, 15 July 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Creative Communications Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Daniel J. Pesut Spirit of Renewal Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Dorothy Ford Buschmann Outstanding New Member Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Episteme Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Founders Awards
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Helen Henry Excellence of Care Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Lucie S. Kelly Mentor Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Melanie C. Dreher Award for Outstanding Chapter Support
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Research Dissertation Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Virginia K. Saba Nursing Informatics Leadership Award
Nomination Deadline: Saturday, 1 March 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET)