The DAISY Award is said to be for extraordinary nurses. Alexis is just that. I had the pleasure of orienting her for both our lower acuity patients and several months later for our higher acuity patients. What tremendous growth she has had over the past year, both personally and professionally. So, what makes an Extraordinary Nurse? When I think about what truly makes an Extraordinary Nurse, I think about both knowledge and compassion. Giving exceptional care to our patients and families takes both. Alexis strives each and every day to be a better nurse than she was yesterday. She is confident, although she might fight me on that one. I have watched her go from learning to doing, and now to teaching. As she masters a skill or learns something new, she is excited to share it with her peers. The more she learns, the more she wants to know. She is resilient. Good or bad night, she takes the time to reflect and gets back up again. Always ready for a new patient, new experience, and new challenge. Taking every patient and family experience and using it to learn and grow. She is emotionally intelligent. She is both self and socially aware. She has the ability to recognize and manage her feelings so that her emotions do not affect her patient care. She is kind. Extremely patient and family-focused, she treats all her patients and families with the utmost respect. Lastly, she is a team member. A fantastic one at that. Always lending a hand before you even knew you needed one. Compassionate care doesn’t always just come from one nurse. Nursing is a team, a family, and I am honored to be able to work beside her. She pours her heart and soul into her job every single day. I am truly proud of how far she has come over the last year and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in the future.