It is with great enthusiasm that I nominate Michelle Pickrel, RN for the DAISY award. As an ECU Brody School of Medicine faculty psychiatrist, one of my clinical responsibilities includes covering the Emergency Psychiatry service. In that role, I have had the chance to work closely with Nurse Pickrel as we have cared for many patients together at Vidant Medical Center Emergency Department.

Nurse Pickrel is extremely good at her job and is able to compassionately care for a patient population that is often ostracized by their family and friends and stigmatized by society. Patients with psychiatric illnesses often present to the emergency department depressed, agitated, psychotic, or suicidal and can be easily frightened by the chaos of the department. Nurse Pickrel has a very special way of making patients feel comfortable and always tries to offer individualized attention to her patients. A patient recently wrote a letter about Nurse Pickrel offering her gratitude. The patient asked that her letter be shared with Nurse Pickrel's supervisors. She wrote:

"Michelle was meant to be someone special, not only for you and me... As it should be whenever you, I give our best unto others, you, I are a star-ri-vi-ty. She painted my nails with crystals from the universe that was combined with a special poly-fluid from the atmosphere of rains concealed with eternal pink colors of heated neon."

Michelle is an exceptional Nurse and by giving her this award, we would be helping this patient and me thank her for her dedicated care of patients.