Theresa Gordon, who was manager of Labor and Delivery and now works in Clinical Informatics at Hamilton Medical Center, recently received the DAISY Leader Award for Extraordinary Nurse Leaders. The DAISY Leader Award recognizes exemplary nursing leadership excellence.
The nominations for Gordon mentioned her constant encouragement, leadership skills, positive and pleasant attitude, high expectation for herself and others and excellent work ethic as reasons for her nomination.
“Theresa cares so much about the department,” according to one nominator. “She always makes sure we are staffed accordingly and will come in to work with us, without complaint, if needed.” Thirteen other nurse leaders were also nominated for the award. They include: Candie Brown, Michelle Maddux, Stephanie DiDonato, Stephanie Sartin, Denise Gaskey, Melissa Hefner, Amanda Horne, Hanna Abdelrazzaq, Terri Brown, Becky Jackson, Tina Thompson, Melinda Edgeman, and Tiffany Rentfro.
The qualifications for the award include:
- Role modeling compassion and exemplary practice
- Role-modeling behavior perceived as extraordinary
- Creating an environment that fosters care and compassion
- Creating an environment where attributes of trust, compassion, mutual respect, continued professional development and ethical behavior are modeled and supported
- Motivating staff with a shared vision and enthusiasm to achieve better outcomes for themselves and for their patients
- Mentoring staff members
- Being accessible, available and responsive to the needs of others, encouraging critical thinking and problem-solving for individuals and within the context of the team
- Promoting and enhancing the image of nursing within the organization, the community and the profession.