Dr. Head is highly committed to the learning and success of her students to ensure their proper preparation as future registered nurses. Dr. Head has always gone out of her way for me to make sure that I am successful in both the classroom and clinical settings. Anytime I have struggled with a concept, skill, or nursing school in general, I could always look to Dr. Head to help me find the best solution. I experienced a fail on one of my HESI exams that immediately reduced me to tears. I turned to Dr. Head for help and advice. Within minutes of meeting with Dr. Head, she had developed an action plan for her to help me bounce back and get going again. She sat down with me the next day, we went through countless problems and worked through the process together. Dr. Head made sure that we thoroughly worked through my strengths and weaknesses on the subject, focusing heavily on the latter. She evaluated my thinking process and gave advice on how to gradually work towards success not only on the exam but excellence throughout my remaining time in the program. Early the next week, I went on to get a perfect score on my second attempt. I attribute this success to Dr. Head because had it not been for her, I may not have encountered the level of success I achieved. In this situation, Dr. Head taught me the material in a way that I could retain the information and helped form the foundation that led to my overall success in the NOC Nursing Program. Success has always been the mutual goal of Dr. Head for myself and my fellow classmates. Dr. Head has taught me that success does not always come immediately or when I want it to, but that it will eventually come with time and faith. 

Dr. Head’s success with her students lies in her ability to form relationships through personal interactions. Her calm, easy-going personality makes any encounter with her yield the most desirable result. She has been honest, reasonable, fair, and level-headed in all interactions we have had together. These qualities, along with too many others to list, depict exactly what an effective, exceptional nursing instructor should look like. She has taken the time to listen to my concerns, hear them through, and plan a course of action to make sure my voice is heard. There has never been a time where I felt as if she had not heard my concerns or has not taken them seriously. She holds a level of respect that is reciprocated by her students. Dr. Head has mastered therapeutic communication and utilizes the skill in many of her everyday interactions with me and my cohort. Dr. Head utilizes multiple methods of instruction to find the best fit for both the student and the situation at hand. She utilizes online sources such as case studies or virtual simulations to help her students work through the nursing process to strengthen those skills. She often combines electronic resources with hands-on skills or NCLEX-style question books to assess the students' knowledge of a certain subject or idea. Dr. Head does not hesitate to modify the method of instruction to the needs of the student. These consistent qualities follow Dr. Head into the lab and clinical settings. When I struggled with completing a certain clinical skill, Dr Head taught me to use a hands-on approach while verbalizing the nursing process to help me understand the how and why. 
     
Dr. Head has always been willing to do whatever it takes for her to help me achieve what I need to. I have always been able to call on her for help in the nursing program under any given circumstance. She was willing to sit down with me for extra help whenever I have needed it. Dr. Head teaches the material in a way that is easily-relatable so the information becomes retained. Dr. Head is quick to make plans to where instruction can be easily provided, whether that be in-person or online. If Plan A did not work out Dr. Head was always one step ahead with the backup plan ready to go. Whenever I met with Dr. Head, I knew going in that I was going to receive the very best of help. 
     
Dr. Head is the image of what an excellent, exceptional nursing instructor looks like. She strives for excellence not only for herself, but those around her. She instills the values of what it takes to be the very best in the students she teaches every day. She has taught me that "good enough" is never enough and that I should never stop working towards becoming exceptional. Dr. Head is kind, fair, and reasonable and gives advice to strengthen the foundation of the future nurse sitting in front of her. She is both calm and compassionate -- two values that have played a large role in the relationships she holds with her students. She has built a relationship with me that shows she truly cares and makes me feel safe to approach her about anything that may be troubling or concerning me. Dr. Head has worked to make ends meet in a last minute situation that she was not able to help me herself but was able to arrange with another instructor to make sure I had the help and resources I needed. Dr. Head is honest, professional, and dependable in a profession where those qualities matter most. I have always felt comfortable having a conversation with Dr. Head without fearing backlash or judgment. Dr. Head’s ability to build an impactful relationship with her students is unmatched. She possesses a level of confidence, compassion, and determination that often rubs off onto the students seeking her help. Her compassion for her students and the future patients they will care for is evident in any conversation. She gives solid advice on effective therapeutic communication and the importance of taking time to show your patients that you care for them and their situation, instead of seeing the patient as another task to be completed. She has taught me the effectiveness of a kind voice and touch in the nurse-patient relationship. 
     
Going through nursing school is a difficult journey that is full of ups and downs. The growth that comes with these ups and downs is painful at the time but is so worth it in the end. I would like to thank Dr. Head for standing by me and being there for me through all of my successes and struggles as I worked through the growth and met my ultimate nursing goals. My journey through the nursing program wasn't always easy, but having an instructor I could rely on made it manageable. Dr. Head has always been calm, kind, reasonable, and compassionate when I have needed it most. Dr. Head has always been my go-to instructor when I was struggling, needed advice, or had been successful at something I had been working toward. I was always able to look to Dr. Head for words of encouragement or for help "remembering my why" when it seemed like I had lost my way. During a particularly hard day at clinical where everything seemed to be going wrong, I called Dr. Head because I was stressed, anxious, and did not know what to do. After a tearful heart-to-heart conversation on the phone, Dr. Head did not hesitate to place her day and what she was doing on hold to come the hour-and-a-half to visit with me at the facility where I was doing my clinical. She has been my calm voice of reason many times in nursing school when I felt I had fallen off the path. In the end, the situations I stressed and worried about were inconsequential, but the advice I gained from them is something I will carry with me through my nursing career. Dr. Head has never hesitated to pick up the pieces and build me up, while reminding me that, with a little faith, I can do anything I set my mind to. When I felt overwhelmed by the demands of nursing school, Dr. Head would remind me that I am still learning, to take a deep breath, and to take it one step at a time. I believe Dr. Head deserves the DAISY Award because of her unrelenting dedication to and the investment she puts into the current and future successes of her students. I am so happy to have had her as an instructor, and I am honored to have the opportunity to nominate her for the DAISY Award.

Thank you, Dr. Head, for building me up and teaching me what it takes to be an exceptional nurse.