Know Any Nurses Who are Doozies? Nominate Them for a DAISY.

By Jordie Papa

Image courtesy flickr

Created by the family of Patrick Barnes, to honor the nurses who cared for him before he succumbed to the autoimmune disease idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, the DAISY Awards have grown to involve more than 3,500 healthcare facilities and nursing schools worldwide.  While the acronym DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem, the awards are given to nurses, educators and nurses seeking grants to support medical missions.  Even better, a nurse can be nominated for a DAISY by physicians, healthcare workers including other nurses, family members, or patients.  There is even a DAISY Team Award to honor two or more people led by a nurse who have gone above and beyond the traditional role of nursing.  Even extraordinary nursing students can receive a DAISY.

What Makes a DAISY?

The DAISY Foundation was created to recognize and award the exemplary work done by outstanding nurses.  Promoting everything from exceptional patient care and patient safety, to recognizing outstanding nursing teachers and assisting nurses who wish to volunteer their services cover some of their expenses, DAISY has grown from an award to an endowment that helps nurses in a number of ways.  The award is presented in a public ceremony within the recipient’s workplace or school.  Below is the current roster of award categories:

Image courtesy Uniform Destination

DAISY AWARD – Anyone registered for a DAISY gets their name, photo and story profiled on the DAISY Foundation spotlight page (www.DAISYfoundation.org).  Additional benefits to honorees include a pin that can be worn on the recipient’s uniform, as well as savings on tuition at Chamberlain University, reduced cost on ANCC certification or renewal, receipt of a Healer’s Touch sculpture and the nurse honoree’s unit even receives a box of cinnamon rolls.  Talk about a sweet success.    

DAISY TEAM AWARD – In 2013, the National Patient Safety Foundation partnered with DAISY to award nurses who go above and beyond to increase patient and workforce safety. The DAISY Team Award is presented at the IHI Patient Safety Congress each spring.

DAISY AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY NURSING STUDENTS – In an effort to motivate nursing students, the foundation partnered with nursing schools to honor students who demonstrate commitment to compassionate care, advocate for patients and their families, and show exceptional nursing skills. 

DAISY AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY NURSING FACULTY – Begin in 2018, the foundation in conjunction with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing added a way for nursing colleges to award select faculty members with a DAISY Award. 

DAISY AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY NURSES IN PATIENT FLOW – This award was created to honor nurses and nurse-led teams who show exceptional prowess in helping patients and their families migrate through the healthcare process.

DAISY MEDICAL MISSION GRANTS PROGRAM – The cost to participate in medical missions can be anywhere from $1,000 - $5,000, since participating nurses are not only required to pay their own way, they’re also required to provide their own supplies. The Mission Grants program provide up to $1,500 to nurses who wish to volunteer for medical missions.  (To learn more about the aspect of DAISY, click on the link below:

https://resources.nurse.com/daisy-grant-program-supports-medical-missions

DAISY Delivers in Other Ways

Image courtesy Uniform Destination

Realizing the fact that there is an acute shortage of qualified nurses in the world today, the foundation is doing everything it can to boost morale of existing nurses and nursing students, as well as providing recognition and rewards to encourage nurses to stay in the industry.  A 2015 study showed that nurses who had been nominated for a DAISY Award reported greater job satisfaction and lower levels of compassion fatigue usually associated with nursing.

DAISY Awards are most definitely a team effort.  Everyone involved in the process gets to benefit, from the DAISY committee tasked with selecting the award winners, to the organizations involved who express their appreciation to winners by coming up with creative ways to celebrate honorees.  Organizations outside DAISY have also shown their appreciation:

      1.      SCRUBS Magazine posts online shout-outs to award winners.

      2.      Cherokee Medical uniforms selects 10 honorees each year who are awarded $2,000 scholarships to attend the medical conference of their choice.

      3.      Sigma Tau theta International, the Honor Society of Nursing, invites honorees to apply for membership in what has traditionally been an invitation-only honor.

      4.      The Society of Pediatric Nurses offers membership discounts to honorees, as well as free member webinars and discounts for courses and journals they produce.

DAISY doesn’t stop there.

Award winners are encouraged to pay it forward by becoming DAISY Ambassadors.  This involves sharing their experiences with other nurses in the medical community as well as providing feedback online as well as at nursing conferences. 

As its list of honorees grows and more healthcare organizations clamor to join the cause, who knows what the future has in store for the DAISY Foundation?  All I can say is you can bet it will be a doozy.

Jordie Papa owns and operates Uniform Destination in Jacksonville, Orange Park and St. Augustine, Florida.  For more information on her locations go to http://www.uniformdestinations.com