Nurse Jennifer Irigoyen is an operating room nurse. She is a long-time employee that has transitioned from nursing assistant to unit secretary to registered nurse. The minute she came into the periop environment as a unit secretary, her hard work, commitment, and calming spirit was evident through her everyday interactions with staff and patients. Throughout all her years at Trinitas, she has always shown compassion to patients, and she always goes the extra mile to help her coworkers. She has been an operating room nurse for less than three years. Despite her “years” of experience, she is a resource and a mentor for the department. She leads by example and from time to time her quiet voice and demeanor get loud (normal tone to most).

Jennifer practices with hunger and resilience. She is never satisfied with not knowing or not understanding. Her questioning attitude is encouraging and also breeds accountability and commitment within the department. A lot of questions she asks makes others realize they don’t know the answer either. It is a joy to work with someone who is always pushing and wanting more knowledge and understanding. Jennifer is always ready to help and there are multiple instances throughout the day where she asks “what can I do” and “where can I help”. Jennifer is approachable and receives criticism well. Jennifer is the type of person that you could tell, that is wrong, that’s terrible. The initial shock of frustration or anger does not stop her from reflecting and seeking out why it was wrong and how to make it better.

The DAISY Award signifies and illustrates compassion, courage, resilience, and integrity in action. Jennifer is compassionate in the way she moves, talks, and interacts with her coworkers and patients. Jennifer is courageous in every avenue of her personal and professional life. “You can't do it” or “you're too small” or “that is too labor intensive” are all words and cautions that Jennifer has heard. These challenging words never deterred Jennifer from achieving her goals. Her resilience is evident in her hunger and drive to push forward. She cannot be stopped; she cannot be tamed; she cannot be held down. Jennifer is a testament to the definition of the DAISY Award.

Jennifer is the definition of nursing, sacrifice, commitment, servanthood, selflessness, and action in the midst of hesitancy and discomfort. Jennifer exemplifies integrity by how she carries herself in favorable and grueling times. Anybody can approach Jennifer and expect a genuine response that is not masked by an agenda. We are all proud that she represents the Operating Room as a shining light. We are all proud that she represents nursing as a beacon of hope and perseverance. We are all proud to join in this celebration.