We are proud to write this nomination for our colleague, Courtney Jones, after her impressive advocation and professional due diligence with a patient during her shift. Nurse are faced with countless tasks during each shift: medication administration and safety, assessing, monitoring and reassessing multiple patients, tracking vital signs and intake and output, providing necessary cares, and escalating concerns. On top of these skills, nurses must ensure the care they provide is safe and minimizes risk to the fragile patients they care for. Courtney has continued to be a highly requested nurse by patients and families. They cherish her sweet demeanor, organization, and devotion to her patients. She could have 100 DAISY Awards, but we are writing this for a particular situation that impressed us.

Without going into too much detail, we want to commend Courtney for her incredible advocation and assessment skills for a patient. Courtney felt something was wrong with a medication and went up her chain of command to figure out why this medication was ordered. She spoke with the resident, charge nurse, and pharmacy. After continued hesitation by Courtney, the team later realized the medication was incorrect. Without Courtney’s strong advocacy skills and assessment skills, this patient could have had a poor outcome. We are so proud of Courtney’s dedication to her patients and know that this situation was not ideal; but because of her, the patient ended up being safe.

Hospital Executives described Courtney as a “hero” because of her strong advocacy skills. We know Courtney will continue to protect and advocate for her patients and families and encourage other nurses to do the same. When something feels wrong, keep advocating until you have the answer that makes you feel safe as the nurse.