I wish to nominate Mary O’Connor as a deserving recipient of the DAISY Award. Mary’s clinical skills and especially her compassionate care exemplify the kind of nurse that our patients, their families, and our staff recognize as an outstanding model. She consistently meets all of the following criteria:
Positive Attitude
Models empathy and demonstrates a caring attitude
Demonstrates flexibility and proactive leadership
Consistent focus on meeting the needs of the healthcare team
Generates enthusiasm and energy towards meeting the challenges of nursing
Good assessment and critical thinking skills
Mary has been a friend of mine since 1992. She and I met at Grandview University in the nursing program. Little did I know that she would be a huge influence and extraordinary mentor of mine later in life. Her wisdom and friendship lead me to teach at Grandview and 6 years later she was putting me under her wings and preparing me to be a Family Nurse Practitioner. Having the privilege to learn, laugh, and love alongside her as she cares for her patients was truly a blessing. Not one day would go by that one or more of her patients would tell me how much they appreciate her being in Zearing. Over the past 15 years she has provided high quality, compassionate and honest healthcare to the people of Zearing and surrounding counties. Her down to earth approach demonstrates a genuine transparency allowing patients to feel safe in her care. She is so worthy of the DAISY award.
Second nomination:
“Big city Irish red-head meets small town farming community.” Having grown-up and lived in this community for all my life, I realize how important it is to have medical facilities close by. Mary came to our community in 1997 as a student. She went on to graduate and realized that there was a need in rural areas for good, available medical care. Usually that involves the whole family, sometimes three generations. Her positive attitude, empathy, and caring have shown in many ways. It could be the visit to the nursing home to care for the residents or the home visit due to a difficult transportation issue. She may field phone calls at home in the evenings and on weekends from a troubled family member of a critically ill patient, or maybe a crying new mother who just needs some support. Mary spent endless hours organizing what was needed to fulfill her dream of a new clinic. Since that time she has been instrumental in adding EKG availability, and this summer will welcome her latest dream of an x-ray machine.
In 2004 I had the privilege of being able to join the staff at Mary’s clinic. I have been in nursing for over 40 years and thought I had seen and done about “everything”. I was wrong. I have learned something nearly every day. It is such a pleasure to be a part of the enthusiasm and compassion that Mary has for her profession. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t thank her staff for their help as they leave for the day. Our work may be done for the day but hers may go on for hours, actually 24/7. She has always used good rapport and critical assessment to help the patients make good medical decisions for themselves and their families. It would be hard to choose one situation over another to describe Mary’s caring and ever vigilant demeanor with her patients. Let’s just leave it at this…”this small town of rural citizens wouldn’t know what to do if Mary didn’t stop to say ‘Hi’ at the local coffee shop, bank or post office.” We’ll keep our Irish red-head, thanks!
And yet another nomination:
Mary Francis O’Connor is someone who is more than a nurse. She is a caregiver, advocate, mother, mentor, and a health care provider (nurse practitioner). I have had the opportunity to be mentored by Mary for the past few months. In the short amount of time that I have spent with her, I have realized how important her patients are to her. It’s not just their health, but their entire well-being. Not only do I see her profound love for her patients, but to her wonderful staff and family. I have witnessed many wonderful things, but the following task is just one more reason why I want to nominate Mary Francis O’Connor for the DAISY Award.
Mary has recently help organize “shared medical visits” within the community. These medical visits are currently organized for diabetes patients to get together and discuss ways to manage their diabetes better. Not only is this a fascinating support group for patients, but also it offers the patients the ability to get together with other patients that have the same diagnosis and can share their experiences and thoughts on diabetes.
Mary is an empathetic and diligent provider who strives continuously to improve the quality of life for her patients within her community. I can only hope that when I become a Nurse Practitioner that I practice, advocate, and mentor to the level of excellence that she does every day!