About the DAISY Award

Nursing is a profession that requires a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and personal dedication. However, nurses that exhibit these wonderful qualities rarely receive recognition for their efforts. To make sure that outstanding nurses receive the thanks they deserve, the DAISY Foundation has created an award for those deserving nurses.

What is the DAISY Foundation?

DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The foundation was created in memory of J. Patrick Barnes in November 1999. Mr. Barnes was only thirty-three years old when he passed away because of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, an immune disease. His family was touched by the quality of care he received at the hands of dedicated and hardworking nurses during his stay in the hospital.

To honor those nurses and all nurses who work hard for their patients, Mr. Barnes’ family created the foundation to shine a light on nurses all over the world.

What is the DAISY Award?

Officially termed The DAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses, this award was established as a program to recognize the hard work of outstanding nurses that go above and beyond the call of duty. In setting up the award program, the family of Mr. Barnes wanted to include three specific elements:

  1. Partnership with other organizations in the medical field to allow “ongoing recognition of the clinical skill” and other attributes that nurses encompass in their work each day.
  2. Enough flexibility to allow hospitals and clinics to tailor the award to their individual culture and expectations.
  3. A “turnkey” style of operation that provides hospitals with everything they will need to introduce the award program.

So far, over 40,000 nurses have been honored with the award, raising morale and standards in hospitals all over the US and the world.

The DAISY in Training Award

Having a program in place to recognize the efforts of nurses has done a lot of good. Nurses have something tangible to strive for, and the prospect of receiving the award is an encouragement to keep working hard every day.

But what about nursing students? They are studying, taking exams, and performing work in hospitals as well. All the pressure can be challenging to deal with and many nursing students find themselves struggling with the demands they face.

To help encourage nursing students to remember why they chose the profession and why they should keep going, the DAISY Foundation created the DAISY in Training Award. This award is given to nursing students that have shown compassionate care as they learn the ins and outs of the nursing profession. At the awards ceremony, students are encouraged to share their stories of providing excellent care while maintaining compassion and kindness. Creating this positive environment of support has been shown to help nurses continue on with their studies and reach the goal of becoming a full nurse.

The Growth of the DAISY Awards

Today, there are about four thousand healthcare facilities and nursing schools across all 50 states and 22 countries around the world that are part of the DAISY Foundation. These facilities are dedicated to honoring nurses and nursing students with the recognition they deserve for their efforts.

Nurses can be nominated by patients, other nurses, doctors, family members – anyone who has seen a level of unrivaled compassionate care being given by the nurse.  Along with the regular and student awards, the foundation also includes a Team Award and a Nurse Leader Award to recognize the efforts of nurse collaboration and leadership.

Final Thoughts

Not enough nurses receive recognition. Indeed, nursing is the definition of a thankless job. It means a lot to nurses to receive acknowledgment and appreciation for all they do. If you have been a recipient of compassionate care from a nurse, consider nominating him or her for the DAISY Award. If their hospital does not take part in the program, we guarantee that your nurse will even appreciate a thank-you card.

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