It is my pleasure to nominate Aaron Murray, RN, for the DAISY Award, with whom I have worked side by side several times on many different units throughout the hospital. Aaron is one of the most skilled, genuine, compassionate, and team-oriented nurses in the hospital, and he is always willing to help anybody on any unit he is working on that day, whether that is other nurses, the charge nurse, the unit manager, or the PCTs. This particular nomination does pertain to a specific instance when Aaron was floated to 6 North, the oncology unit.

He had a patient who had terminal liver cancer. The patient and the family had to make the gut-wrenching decision to enter hospice. The family had so many questions about the disease, hospice, and the dying process. I was on the unit that day, and I witnessed so many conversations Aaron had with the patient and her family, answering all of those questions. He was so knowledgeable, it helped me understand the disease and dying process more, and he made the family feel at ease. He was so compassionate, patient, and kind with the family, who were visibly distraught and struggling. He never made the family feel rushed or like they were asking them questions. He shared with the family his experiences as a nurse, and also some personal experiences he has had with loved ones whom he had recently lost. The family was visibly very comfortable with him, and the patient was even joking with him by the end of the day.

I later found out that Aaron had lost his mom just the previous year to the same disease. It is a hard time to work in a hospital, with Staffing challenges, patients getting sicker, and Hospital changes constantly occurring. Witnessing Aaron care for this patient and her family, and the way that he did it, was a sincere reminder of why we all do what we do. His leadership does not go unnoticed to those he works alongside. Thank you so much for your consideration.