Donna J Johnson, MSN-Ed, RN, CMSRN, NPDC-BC

I am nominating my clinical instructor, Donna Johnson, for the DAISY Faculty Award because she embodies the qualities of both an exceptional nurse and a phenomenal educator. She approaches teaching with a refreshing balance of honesty and encouragement. She has high expectations, but she manages to create a positive, welcoming environment for learning where growth is both expected and fully supported. What sets her apart from professors I’ve had in the past is the authenticity behind her feedback. When she offers us praise or recognizes our efforts, it carries weight, and when she challenges us, it is always with the intention of helping us become stronger, safer, and more capable nurses.

I have learned so much from observing her bedside manner with patients. Her patient interactions are compassionate and an excellent model of patient-centered care. You can visibly see a change in a patient’s energy when she walks into their room because she meets them with warmth and positivity, while still providing excellent education to her students and skilled, competent care for the patient. I hope to be the kind of nurse that can inspire that kind of communication and energy one day.

She is deeply knowledgeable and skilled, but also approachable and patient. She never dismisses questions and instead uses them as opportunities to deepen our collective understandings. On top of this, she actively seeks out meaningful learning experiences for us. That may include involving us in unique patient cases on the unit, but she also goes out of her way to creatively simulate skills if there isn’t an exciting case on the unit relevant to our learning objectives that week. The other day in the emergency department, when we were slow, she constructed a makeshift arm out of towels, straws, and gloves to help us practice IVs with her guidance. She provided so many helpful tips, and I really appreciated the opportunity to learn in a low-pressure environment.

Beyond the excellent skills training she provides, she builds our critical thinking and clinical judgment skills by guiding us to arrive at answers independently, reinforcing competence and confidence. She has created an excellent positive learning environment where mistakes are treated as safe and valuable opportunities for growth, allowing us to develop our new skills without fear while still holding us to a high standard. Her emphasis on mastering foundational skills in this fast-paced program has been invaluable, and the growth I have witnessed in my abilities and my confidence under her guidance has been truly exponential. She challenges us during every practicum to think quickly, manage our time effectively, build our clinical judgment abilities, and work towards future goals, while providing the support needed to succeed. I also want to take time to comment about her commitment to us as students. She diligently advocates for us in the clinical environment to have opportunities to learn. She prepares each morning before practicum to ensure that each of us has patients that will require us to utilize our new skills and practice assessments relevant to the course topics each week, even printing off a guide each day to help us effectively manage our time. Having taken college courses for many years, I can confidently say she is one of the most impactful instructors I have ever had. I know that I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have learned from her, and I know that the nurse I am becoming is a direct reflection of her guidance, competency, compassion, mentorship, and commitment to her students.