I would like to nominate Shukuan De Souza, RN for the Daisy Award. I believe she exemplifies the core values of Swedish including respect, care and compassion, teamwork, patient-centered, continuous learning and leadership. I don’t think I have come across a nurse in my career that is so passionate about her work and displays such a strong work ethic. Shukuan currently works in our ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) area as the charge RN and I believe she offers a broad range of skills that benefit all our patients served and defines what it is to be an exceptional nurse. Respectful, care and compassion: The ECT patient population is mentally quite fragile. Our patients have chosen ECT as a final effort to treat their depression. Shukuan is compassionate and thoughtful in her approach at meeting the emotional needs of our patient population. I am always amazed at her attentiveness and intensity with her patients when I am making rounds. Her love for her work is palpable and she comes across as energized by her work which makes her very approachable to both patients and staff. Teamwork: I receive much appreciation from her peers for her tireless efforts, attention to detail and strong organizational skills. She goes out of her way to ensure that her peers are able to consistently get breaks and makes herself readily available to offer them a hand and to answer questions and concerns based on her strong clinical knowledge base. Patient-centered: Her entire approach is focused on being patient-centered. If she believes there is any concern for patient safety she will not hesitate to intervene and take steps to improve the situation. Continuous learning: This year alone she has taken classes to maintain and upgrade her skills such as a course on protecting the aging brain, a neuroscience nursing core concepts 2 day coarse, and she also maintains a membership to the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. I never have to remind her about completing annual education requirements because she completes things as soon as she realizes they are due. She is not a procrastinator. In addition, she is the ECT representative for the Behavioral Health Services Shared Leadership unit based council and offers her assistance and suggestions. Leadership: As charge RN Shukuan takes this role very seriously and has surpassed my expectations in her ability to create innovative ideas to help improve the workflow and to maintain that the unit is safely meeting the needs of all our patients. She is constantly coming
to me with her suggestions and offering valuable input on how to continually provide optimal care. I am confident that Shukuan meets the criteria needed to receive the Daisy award and I strongly encourage that you recognize her as the next recipient. Thank you. Sincerely, Travis Damico, Nurse Manager Behavioral Health Services