From day one as a new grad nurse, Jenni displayed the irrefutable traits of a great nurse. Jenni was compassionate with high energy and always utilized critical thinking and advocated fearlessly for her patients and peers. She is rarely seen sitting and without a task at hand, always going the extra step for a patient, a peer, or a family member. 

I had the pleasure of precepting her as a new grad and watching her grow into the "go-to-resource" of N2. She is a team player, a unit leader, and a dear advocate and friend of all who know her. Jenni has taken on many roles in her time as a staff nurse to accommodate the needs of the unit, including charge nurse, temporary CRL, educator, preceptor, and flow nurse. As staff and leadership continued to turnover, Jenni helped to raise unit morale through frequent communication with staff to ensure safe, evidence-based care was being provided to patients and fearlessly jumping into a new pilot role for a preceptor cohort last August. When she was approached and asked if she was willing to help her unit by piloting a new preceptor cohort model, where she would have two orientees at a time, she fearlessly agreed and threw her heart and soul into making the program a success. 

Jenni consistently took her personal time the night before a shift to look up patients and prepare for the best learning opportunities by hand-selecting patients. Jenni took diligent notes on each orientee and the new cohort model. Jenni went above and beyond the call of duty time and time again, her deep passion for her role as a nurse shining brightly for all to see. She has often been quoted saying "I love this unit, I want this unit to continue to be great."

I can write a book about all of the "little" things that Jenni has done to date and in her day-to-day practice that makes her a DAISY Nurse, but the most recent and profound story is the one I will leave you with. Just a week ago Jenni was receiving report on a patient to be admitted from the PACU to N2. Jenni was concerned about the patient's post-operative vitals and raised her concerns to the PACU staff. The patient was cleared by anesthesia and was to be admitted to N2, Jenni was still concerned about the vitals and continued to advocate for the patient and N2 that this was not a safe admission. Jenni was met with multiple hurdles in her attempt to advocate for patient safety, but she did not give up, she persisted. Eventually, after multiple hours and phone calls, the patient was diverted to the ICU instead of N2 and was found to have a bladder perforation requiring a return to the OR. Jenni's persistence in advocating for patient safety prevented the patient from being admitted to the wrong care area and saved a patient's life, this is no little event and should not go unnoticed. 

When push comes to shove and it may feel easier to just accept a patient than to continue to fight what feels like a losing battle, we must look to the fearless nurses who lead the path of advocacy and share their bravery with the world! In a healthcare landscape where we have very few experienced nurses, nurses like Jenni Witik are priceless to continue to provide high quality care and grow the future workforce.