For almost 24 years, The DAISY Foundation has made bestowing nurses who demonstrate extraordinary skill and compassion with meaningful recognition and appreciation its goal.
The majority of DAISY Award nominations, which describe the difference nurses make every day, are written by patients and their family members. Over two and a half million nominations have been submitted, to date.
Nurses who are selected by their organizations to receive the award are recognized at award presentations and receive gifts, as well as The DAISY Foundation's numerous honoree benefits, which never expire. Every DAISY Honoree, no matter when they receive their award, is entitled to them at any time. We created these benefits to help honorees advance their careers, develop their practice and expertise, and nourish their well-being.
One such benefit is the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend a nursing conference of their choice. We initially included this perk because nurse leaders were telling us that professional development budgets were shrinking, despite the growing need for nurses to continue building their expertise and expanding their networks. Hence, the creation of the Healing Hands Nursing Conference Scholarship for DAISY Honorees (previously called the Cherokee Nursing Conference Scholarship).
Co-sponsored by the foundation's Industry Partner, Careismatic Brands, this scholarship gives nurses up to $2,000 to attend a conference of their choice.
Reading the scholarship applications is heartening -- as it always is when we read what DAISY nurses have to say about their profession. The applications reflect the profound caring nurses bring to their practice and their drive to excel clinically.
Here are two examples:
Jesus Medrano, BSN, RN, a med/surg nurse at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado, wrote about how a workshop at the NurseCon at Sea conference he will attend in 2024 had special relevance to his patients because it addressed the health needs of transgender individuals who are peds patients, "which is a prominent population we see on our floor due to the high risk of self-harm," he said in his application.
"It's crucial in understanding how an initial approach from a healthcare team can be significant in creating a moment that can potentially either affirm the patient or cause further harm," he said.
We were also immensely proud to support Viktoriya Baraya, BSN, RNC-MNN, C-EFM, who works on the Maternal Infant Unit at the U.S. Naval Medicine Readiness and Training Command in Yokosuka, Japan. Her goal was to attend the 2023 Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Convention, not only to build her professional knowledge, but to also share what she learned with the tight-knit community of nurses with whom she serves.
We strongly encourage all conference scholarship recipients to disseminate what they learn, thereby amplifying the impact of their scholarship, so we were impressed when Viktoriya's application essay. In it, she said the knowledge and experience she gained from the conference would be "highly valued" at her facility and that she would be happy to share it with her colleagues through mentorships, training, presentations, etc.
"Our Mother-Infant Unit provides antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care to nearly 400 families of our active duty and dependent beneficiaries," she said. "I strongly believe that they deserve the most up-to-date and clinically relevant care from the nurses who stay abreast with the KSAs in the specialty." Viktoriya's essay showed her unmistakable passion and compassion.
In The DAISY Foundation's 24 years, we have attended numerous conferences and had a chance to experience what attendance means to nurses. Whether it's a gathering organized by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, the Association of peri-Operative Registered Nurses (AORN), or another organization we're always struck by the joy that nurses feel being members of communities that learn together, advance their practice and expertise together, are inspired together, and, of course, celebrate together.
Networking and professional development go hand in hand, and The DAISY Foundation and our partners look forward to supporting many more nurses in the future who, like Jesus and Viktoriya, will make the most of their conference experiences.
Through ongoing recognition in over 6,200 healthcare facilities and nursing schools, nurses around the world are reminded why they became nurses -- and of course, reminded of their purpose.
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