NOVA celebrated our LPN/LVN community during October 2020 and our Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) community in November, 2020. It has been a goal of NOVA to make sure that all of our nurses feel appreciated for all of their hard work, that our LPN/LVNs and APRNs are aware of available opportunities. To celebrate we decided to host a friendly competition to help recruit LVN/LPNs and APRNs.

The rules were to recruit LVN/LPNs during the entire month of October and APRNs during the entire month of November. The nurse who recruited the most LVN/LPNs and the nurse who recruited the most APRNs would be awarded a NOVA fleece from L.L.Bean. The competition was fun and close for the majority of the months; however, we did have a winner for October and one for November!

Carolyn Dunbar

Congratulations to Ms. Carolyn Dunbar for being our top recruiter of LPNs in the month of October! Ms. Dunbar has been a faithful member of NOVA since 2002. She is currently a RN at the Southeast Louisiana VA HCS in New Orleans, LA. Thank you so much Carolyn, for all your hard work and dedication to NOVA for so many years! We appreciate your willingness to help NOVA grow and become even more great! We look forward to seeing how you will continue to help NOVA grow even larger in the years to come!

Alma Holley

Congratulations to Ms. Alma Holley for being our top recruiter of APRNs for the month of November!

Alma Holley serves the Nurse Manager for the Women’s Health Clinic at the Washington DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center.  She became a certified CNL in 2010. This is a role Alma truly enjoys because the role requires her to incorporate all of her nursing knowledge into practice. The road to accomplish many of her assignments is not present in most situations, so she must build it with her education and nursing experience.  Alma believes as an experienced nurse it is her responsibility to give back to the new nurses.  Over the past five years, she has served as a CNL Ambassador, presented at the CNL Summit and volunteered as a mentor/advisor for several CNL students.  

With over 30 years of RN experience, Alma has held several positions in nursing.  She has worked as a Nurse Manager, Nurse Educator, Case Manager, Director of Health Services, Dialysis Nurse, CNL, Public Health Nurse, Neonatal Nurse and Pediatric Nurse.  Nursing is a dynamic profession and every day the nurse is challenged to keep up with the latest evidence based information.  In 2013, Alma co-authored: Changing Behavior among Nurses to Track Indwelling Urinary Catheters in Hospitalized Patients.

Alma serves as the local NOVA Membership Chair for NOVA Chapter #156 in Washington DC. She is also a member of the national NOVA Chapter Oversight and Membership Development Committees where she serves as a chapter contact. In her leisure time, Alma enjoys crafting, traveling and cooking.

Thank you Ms. Alma, for your passion and dedication to our nation's Veterans. We look forward to working with you to grow NOVA's membership!