I have had the pleasure of working with Jose Irizarry for the past year, but I have recently gotten to know more about how compassionate and kind he is as well as a great Nurse Leader. 

Our closer working relationship began when Jose offered to be his Department’s Magnet Champion. He was very supportive from the very beginning, and when I announced I was looking for someone to help lead the Magnet Champions- he did not hesitate to contact me and explain why he wanted the role. Jose has been with MCI for some time and was an active participant in MCI’s previous Magnet push. He understood that the journey to excellence takes all of us and makes us stronger together. At the time, I didn’t know much about Jose, but in our planning sessions, he shared his incredible personal journey of being an adoptive and foster parent. 

As he was describing the ups and downs of fostering children, the compassion and love was quite evident. Together with his wife and their extended family, they have brought life and love into their family. The story is beautiful, and anyone who hears it is made better for it. Jose is truly a kind, generous person. 

This generosity and caring also play out in his professional role here at MCI. He always seems to have a solution, and an understanding of where people are coming from and is non-judgmental. He is gentle in his demeanor, and that is his true strength. He doesn’t have to be the loudest or proudest because his spirit of giving speaks for itself. 

He not only takes a leadership role as a Magnet Champion Chair, but he has recently joined the Magnet Chapter Chairs and is helping to find Magnet stories and has personally offered his time to help launch new initiatives for Workplace Violence at MCI and BHSF.

Jose is committed to his role as an educator and is always searching for ways to increase others’ understanding and removing barriers to learning. He recently decided he is going to go for an ANCC Certification for Oncology Nurses. While he was studying, he realized the depth and breadth of the materials and looked for ways to make studying more effective for himself. Then, he realized that if he was going to create this educational tool for himself, he needed to do it for others. He is now creating a study plan along with study aides for other nurses who want to get this certification as well. 

I highly recommend this nurse for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award at MCI. He is truly deserving.