Golden Pager Award: Dr. Venkatesh Aiyagari
This year’s winner of the Golden Pager Award, Dr. Venkatesh Aiyagari, has been described as a mentor, a leader, and a compassionate physician whose empathy extends from patients and their families to his own colleagues.
Dr. Aiyagari is Chief of the Neurocritical Care Division of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics at UT Southwestern and Professor of Neurological Surgery and Neurology and Neurotherapeutics.
Since 2010, the annual Golden Pager Award has honored physicians who demonstrate excellence in care, professionalism, collaboration, and respect for the contributions of nursing colleagues. Recipients are selected by the University Hospitals nursing staff.
One of Dr. Aiyagari’s nominators wrote that his ongoing support and leadership have not only contributed to the unit’s success, but have gone a long way in “engaging our nurses and showing the impact they have on quality measures at the bedside.”
“Dr. Aiyagari’s willingness to make himself available to support and advise our new leadership team is crucial in enabling our team to succeed,” the nomination continued. “His mentorship is extremely helpful in ensuring that we are also empowering our staff to provide the best care possible to our patients. It is amazing to see his collaboration with our leadership team to enable and engage our nursing staff, helping them receive the latest information in neuroscience education.”
The nominator said that Dr. Aiyagari leads by example in the care he provides to patients in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. “He is truly admired and respected by all those who have the privilege of working side by side with him.”
“It is truly an honor to be the recipient of the Golden Pager Award,” Dr. Aiyagari said. “I love to come to work each day because of the wonderful team I get to work with. Nurses are the heart and soul of the health care system, and to be recognized by them means a lot to me. I am constantly in awe of the work that our nurses do and how they touch so many lives every day. They are at the patient’s bedside 24/7 and are our most valued partners when it comes to caring for our patients. Many thanks to all the nurses for their support.”
“Nurses at UT Southwestern are lucky to work with physicians who not only communicate with us as teammates, but also truly recognize the value in a team-based approach,” said Chief Nurse Executive Susan Hernandez, MBA, B.S.N., RN. “The Golden Pager Award is something we look forward to every year, because it gives us the chance to celebrate our terrific physician partners.”
Ms. Hernandez presented the Golden Pager Award to Dr. Aiyagari during a Nov. 27 ceremony at the T. Boone Pickens Biomedical Building.
