It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperNurse!

They jump into action when lives are on the line. They fearlessly face death and danger. They have to change into a special outfit before they can do their duty. While these behaviors sound a lot like a comic book superhero, all of these descriptions are true of nurses too. Nurses just do more paperwork.

To commemorate nursing champions everywhere, health care publisher Elsevier and its Mosby’s Nursing Suite product launched the “Superheroes of Nursing” contest this past May. They’ll be accepting submissions and nominations for nursing superheroes through August of this year, all via Mosby’s Facebook page. Nominees can demonstrate their superpowers with the online application and through uploaded photos and videos.

Each month, from May until August, there is a theme, representing four “Superheroes of Nursing” categories: The Validators, The Achievers, The Educators, and The Protectors. So what makes a nurse a superhero? Is it the nurse who protects his or her patients by working overtime to monitor their progress? Is it the nurse who saves the day by implementing new ideas to make the floor run more efficiently? It’s up to you to decide!

Entries are due the 20th of each month, and three finalists will be announced on the 25th of the given month, when nurses from across the country can then vote for that month’s winner. The top four nurse superheroes will receive a free trip to the 2011 American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Conference in Baltimore, taking place October 6–11. Only then will their secret identities will be revealed!

Nominate the nursing superheroes in your life at www.MosbysHeroes.com.