FARMINGTON — Clinical instructor Taffy Davis, MSN, RN-BC, has been named Caregiver of the Year for Franklin Memorial Hospital according to Gerald Cayer, vice president.

Cayer made the surprise announcement during a recent manager’s meeting, praising Davis’ passion in the science behind learning and leadership in the evolution of nursing education.

Davis has been at FMH since 1987. During her tenure, she has worked in the Emergency Department and managed several nursing departments, and currently works in the Education Department. She has a master’s degree in nursing, is board certified in nursing professional development and has completed classes in online learning and instructional design.

At Franklin Memorial Hospital, she makes herself available to staff of all shifts: teaching protocol procedures to follow in emergency situations through a series of mock codes; teaching CPR and facilitating learning in a variety of ways; training to ensure personnel compliance; and providing educational resources throughout the organization so that clinical departments have the most up-to-date patient information.

Davis has also taken on an active role in the hospital’s Western Maine Area Health Education Center to provide learning opportunities for area students on a wide variety of health care topics, including job shadowing and internship opportunities.

In addition, she is continually developing courses to improve the quality of classroom engagement in the field of nursing, not just at Franklin Memorial Hospital, but also by sharing her expertise at state and national conferences. For example, she has helped to develop a statewide nursing preceptor education program and built online education for a national frontline leader program by the Association for Nursing Professional Development. She will present for the second time this summer at the ANPD national conference.

She is an active member of the Association for Nursing Professional Development and the OMNE Nursing Leaders of Maine. She is a member of the Association for Talent Development and the University of Maine at Farmington Institutional Review Board.