Joy Tsounos has been a PACU nurse for approximately 15 years and a nurse at Shadyside for over 25 years. During this time she has brought dedication, compassion, and joy to her practice on a daily basis. You would almost think that her parents had a vision when they named her Joy; she is a true joy, pleasure, delight and gem to have working as a nurse at Shadyside. Recently I received a call from a patient that wished to thank me for the extra effort Joy gave when she went to the orthopedic floor to help with his care. Joy had just transferred a patient from PACU to 2 south. While on 2 south Joy heard that a patient from the PACU the day before was having a large amount of surgical pain. Unfortunately this patient’s IV had infiltrated and his pain medication could not be given until the IV team arrived to start a new IV. Knowing this may take some time, Joy went back to the PACU, gathered the necessary supplies and proceeded back to the floor to start the IV. This patient relayed that Joy calmly walked into his room and stated “I hear you need an IV, I just happened to be here to help out. We do this all the time. ” Of course, anyone that knows Joy knows that this is a typical behavior for her; she in fact does do things like this all the time. Joy not only takes exceptional care of patients, she extends her caring nature to others in the hospital. This past week was Nation Transport Recognition Week. In typical fashion, Joy went to Oakmont Bakery and picked up a tray of doughnuts for the entire transport department. At Christmas, she filled little stockings with candy for each transporter as they are vital support to our department, while also bringing in something for the housekeeping staff of the unit. She has made up popcorn tubs with movie supplies and tickets for the PACU nursing assistants. She always looks for ways to show value to the support staff that makes our roles as nurses easier to perform with their presence. Joy takes an active role in mentoring new nurses in our department and on other floors. She is quick to offer assistance to any floor or unit that needs education support. She spends many hours with the high school students that come to the unit for career shadow experience as well as student nurses. Nursing is not just a job for Joy, it’s a career that she truly loves and is passionate about. I’ll bet she is responsible for dozens of students deciding to become nurses. Once Joy has spent time with a student (whether a high school student or a student nurse) there is a lasting bond. She stays in touch with that student and continues to mentor them as they continue on in their studies. As Joy’s manager I would like to take this time to nominate her for a DAISY Award. I believe her caring compassionate nature along with being an expert in her field epitomizes what the DAISY Award is about.