Award Criteria

Purpose

The Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award is to honor an APOS member who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to making a significant positive impact on their mentees' education and career, nurturing intellectual growth, career development, professional guidance, and positive role modeling in the field of psychosocial oncology.

Eligibility

To nominate an APOS member for this award you will need to submit the following through the online application program:

  • A curriculum vitae (or resume) of the nominee;
  • A letter of nomination that specifically states why the nominee is deserving of the award by providing evidence for how the individual has contributed to the enhancement of psychosocial oncology through research mentorship;
  • Two letters of reference

Award Benefits

The Ruth McCorkle Research Mentorship Award recipients shall receive a recognition award during the awards ceremony, a $1,000 honorarium, an annual conference complimentary registration and a scholarship covering conference registration fees for their chosen mentee.

    About the Award's Namesake

    Dr. Ruth McCorkle has spent her life giving. Thus, she has taught us diligently to give.

    A pioneer in oncology nursing, Dr. McCorkle joined the faculty at Penn’s School of Nursing in 1986. An international leader in cancer nursing, education, and cancer control research, she has done landmark research on the psychosocial ramifications of cancer. She was the first research chair of the Oncology Nursing Society and a charter member of that organization as well as of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and has served on the boards of both groups. Dr. McCorkle has been a member of the study sections of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Nursing Research. As the first non-medical recipient of an NCI Institutional Research Training Grant, she opened the door for other non-medical fields to become competitive in securing vital research funding.

    Elected to the institute of Medicine in 1990, McCorkle is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards. Some of her many honors include the Book of the Year Award for Cancer Nursing from the American Journal of Nursing, a Distinguished Merit Award from the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, and a Distinguished Research Award from the Oncology Nursing Society. She was named the Nurse Scientist of the Year by the Council of Nurse Researchers of the American Nurses Association, one of the most coveted awards in the field of nursing. A prolific writer, her work appears in many professional journals in the U.S. and abroad.

    Her passion of pouring into the next generation is evident both in her words and through her work.  Truly, there is no way to measure the vast impact that Dr. McCorkle has on the field of psychosocial oncology and the lives of those working within it.