Amy Stafford, RN, MSN, is the 2013 recipient of the Karen Spies Nursing Excellence Award. The award was established through a gift made to the Memorial Hospital Foundation to honor Karen Spies, RN, for her caring and professional service. Spies, a former nurse for University of Maryland Shore Regional Health who now works for a private physician practice, presented the award to Stafford. The award is given out annually to recognize a nurse for extraordinary nursing research accomplishments.

Stafford received the award for her study, “Patients’ Perceptions of Patient Care Providers with Tattoos and/or Body Piercings.” This study evaluated patient perceptions of patient care providers with visible tattoos and/or body piercings.

Stafford, who has worked for University of Maryland Shore Regional Health since 2002, is a staff education specialist. Before joining the professional nursing practice team, she was a staff nurse on the surgical unit at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton.

“Nursing research is an essential component of current and future nursing practice,” Stafford said in a news release. “The Karen Spies Nursing Excellence Award has provided me a wonderful opportunity to attend a national conference. I look forward to learning about significant advances in healthcare based on nursing research.”

Participants in the study include the following: Heather V. Westerfield, RN, MSN, CMSRN; Karen Gabel Speroni, RN, PhD; and Marlon G. Daniel, MHA.