Coming Up Daisy

I'm not comfortable with awards. This my night shift colleagues in the unit I used to work in know. And I instructed them never ever to nominate me - for anything - at all.

But there was a group of people I missed to instruct - patients; them who, along with nurses, stand at the front line of their health care battle.

Today I received a Daisy. What exactly is it? In a nutshell, it's an award given to a nurse who has done something extraordinary.

It is bestowed by the hospital where the nurse works, in my case, White Memorial Medical Center, with blessings from the Daisy Foundation.

But primarily and before anything else, a patient or a colleague nominates one who they think deserves it. In my case, it was patients and their families who did.

I never knew what the deal was about the Daisy Award until I read about it. In the website it talks about what the recipient receives and why Daisy cares about nurses.

During the award ceremony, the letters of nomination were read, including details of who the patients were and what the nominee did to deserve the recognition. I could only come up with faint recollection.

It's probably the same on the other end. With many nurses coming in and out of a hospital room, a patient may forget faces, names, acts.

But one thing they will always remember is how a nurse or anyone in the health care team made them feel. It proves the adage: Nobody really cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

It's daunting to be given recognition. From then on, everyone in the workplace look at you in a different light, expect more from you, and look up to you for example.

I guess the only thing to do is say to yourself, "You can live up to it. You once did."

To patients and families who do not allow good deeds to go unnoticed: Thank you for helping us remember how small things and simple acts can make a world of difference.

To millions of nurses on every corner of the world, I believe there is a Daisy hidden in every one of us waiting for the right spring to come.

And once it reaches full blossom, it's only a matter of time before it gets plucked out of obscurity.

{The following thumbnail photo is a link to an online album}.

Daisy

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Photos & video are posted with permission from Eva Guadiz, RN and Elizabeth Powis.