Newswise — (October 14, 2019) - The Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) is pleased to collaborate with The DAISY Foundation to issue a National Call for Nurse Faculty Recognition to honor nursing faculty who prepare the next generation of nursing professionals by role modeling compassionate, extraordinary care, whether to patients and families or to their own students. It is imperative that exceptional faculty in the community colleges are recognized for their expertise in all areas of the academic spectrum. OADN invites every community college leader to consider The DAISY Award program to meaningfully recognize outstanding nursing faculty.
The DAISY Foundation was formed in 1999 by the Barnes family when Patrick Barnes, at the age of 33 passed away from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) an autoimmune disease. During the time the family spent in the hospital, the one constant was the excellent nursing care. It was the clinical skills, critical judgement, kindness, and overall professional nursing expertise that assisted the family through an extremely difficult time. As a result of their gratitude, the family established The DAISY Foundation to say thank you to nurses for their compassionate, extraordinary care. DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.
According to Patrick’s father, Mark Barnes, “Our goal was to ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of our society's profound respect for the education, training, brainpower, and skill they put into their work, and especially for the compassion with which they deliver their care.” The DAISY Foundation is well-known for honoring nurses in the practice setting. With the realization that nurse educators have a direct impact on the future nursing workforce, the Foundation expanded their focus to include outstanding nursing faculty in the academic setting. Vice President for Nursing at The DAISY Foundation, Cynthia Sweeney shared, “Having taught as faculty in a community college, I know firsthand the challenges and the rewards that nursing faculty face. I have witnessed the dedication that my faculty colleagues have for the nursing profession as clinicians and scholars, but also as role models in the delivery of compassionate care whether on behalf of a student or in a clinical setting with patients and families.”
OADN has supported the work of the DAISY Foundation since 2015 and is elated about this latest initiative. “It has been an honor working with The DAISY Foundation and this latest call to action relates directly to the work of OADN as we advocate for nursing faculty and community college nursing programs across the United States,” said Donna Meyer, OADN Chief Executive Officer, “ I applaud The DAISY Foundation for making it possible to acknowledge outstanding faculty.”
In an era of a faculty nursing shortage, the contributions of exceptional nursing faculty members are not highlighted enough. They have a profound impact on their students and often it is a life-changing event for that student. Ultimately, nursing faculty make a difference on behalf of the patients the student will care for in the future. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty provides an opportunity to honor committed faculty members who are inspirational educators and mentors and whose efforts have a demonstrated impact on patient care. As many nursing programs face faculty recruitment, retention and engagement issues this is the perfect time to consider celebrating a member of your faculty team who is making a difference to the future of nursing!
OADN is honored to partner with the DAISY Foundation in this call to action as we work together to pay tribute to nursing faculty across the continuum of nursing education programs. For more information view https://www.daisyfoundation.org/student-faculty-awards/about-daisy-faculty-award.
RSS