Luke nurse winner of prestigious award Published June 24, 2011 By Stephen Delgado 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- A nurse from Luke Air Force Base was recognized as the Nurse Educator of the Year as part of the annual Air Force Medical Service awards program. Lt. Col. Deedra Zabokrtsky, 56th Medical Support Squadron Nurse Transition Program manager, received the award for her leadership of the Air Force nurse transition program at Scottsdale Healthcare System. She has held this position since 2009. As part of Scottsdale Healthcare's military partnership, Colonel Zabokrtsky is responsible for the entry-level force development of more than 60 Air Force nurses annually. She said the award came as a surprise and shared the credit. "Nominees compete at the medical treatment facility level, then command and finally the Air Force level," she explained. "This recognition came as a surprise because it wasn't announced at the same time or through the same channels as other Air Force Medical Service annual awards. I credit this recognition to the support and confidence of my supervisor, Col. Richard Eaves, 56th Medical Group chief nurse. He is a leader in the nursing education world and has an unconventional way of motivating people. "I was recognized in large part because of the work I did leading an Air Force-wide team through the first in-depth look and update of our nurse transition program in more than 15 years." The nurse transition program helps new Air Force nurses transition into a clinical role, according to Colonel Zabokrtsky. "It is a nine-week program that promotes skills acquisition, time management and team leading," she said. "Most nurses enter the program without a lot of confidence, and it is very rewarding to see them transform into confident clinicians who are ready for their first active-duty nursing assignments." Training for nurses in the Air Force has been through a plethora of changes during the last few decades. "Air Force nursing has had an entry-level program for new nurses since 1977," Colonel Zabokrtsky said. "It began as a five-month internship and evolved into a three-month nurse transition program in the mid 1990s. By the end of the year, the current model will be hosted at four sites, down from 10. The Scottsdale program is considered the premier NTP site, training nearly one third of new Air Force nurses each year." The partnership between the Air Force and Scottsdale Healthcare was born in 2004 and has involved not just the active-duty sector, but Reserve and Air National Guard components as well, according to Colonel Zabokrtsky. "The Scottsdale Military Partnership began as a collaborative effort in which Air National Guard medics could sustain readiness and trauma care skills while Scottsdale Healthcare could bolster their regional disaster response capability," she said. "More than 1,000 service members have been trained since 2004." The partnership has been a successful one with many benefits. "The most obvious benefit is enhanced medical readiness of our military units, which translates to saving more lives," Colonel Zabokrtsky said. "An advantage for many units is the flexibility of this training platform. The training can be tailored to the specific needs of those participating. "The success of this partnership paved the way for the first of two $1.6 million congressional appropriations. The first installment financed a new 7,500 square-foot state-of-the-art training facility, with about half of the space dedicated to hands-on training using high-fidelity human patient simulators. The second installment has financed a custom-designed 40-foot mobile simulation training unit that is scheduled to be operational later in the summer. The mobile unit will allow staff to travel to military units across the state and beyond." Colonel Zabokrtsky brought hall-of-fame education and experience credentials to Luke. She was commissioned in 1992 after graduating from Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in nursing. She began her Air Force career as a nurse intern at Travis AFB, Calif.; and completed subsequent assignments at Fairchild AFB, Wash.; Dyess AFB, Texas; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and Bolling AFB, Washington, DC. What's more, she earned a master's degree in nursing education from the University of Oklahoma and is board certified in medical surgical nursing and nursing professional development. Her deployments have taken her to Zagreb, Croatia, in support of Operation Provide Promise and Joint Base Ballad, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Col. Richard Eaves, 56th MDG chief of nursing, had high praise for Colonel Zabokrtsky. "While the 56th MDG had a good relationship with the Scottsdale Healthcare System, Colonel Zabokrtsky has taken that relationship to the next level," he said. "Not only did the first military nurse class at Scottsdale Healthcare launch without a glitch, but she assisted in an accession oversight involving ROTC nurses. Five of these nurses entered into active duty out of cycle and did not have a training class that would accommodate them. "Colonel Zabokrtsky volunteered to set up a course just for these out of cycle nurses, subsequently allowing them to start their active-duty commitment five months earlier. While running the nurse transition course she brokered a deal with the Marriott Scottsdale, saving the Air Force $200,000, while sustaining the quality of living quarters." In all, Colonel Zabokrtsky's career has been a story of many successes. "There are many other success stories to be told," Colonel Eaves said. "Lieutenant Colonel Z is 'top shelf', and her actions have set up an enviable relationship between the military and our civilian medical professionals that have gained not only local, but also Air Force and Defense Department accolades."