Jake Huckins
May 2026
Jake
Huckins
,
BSN, RN
Intensive Care Unit
Cheshire Medical Center
Keene
,
NH
United States
Not one single time did he forget to knock and afford me the agency to answer him-he will never know what a gift that was.
I was a patient at The Cheshire Medical Center ICU in the summer of 2025. I have PTSD, which makes any kind of hospital stay difficult for me. Upon being admitted to the ICU, I received exceptional care, but when I realized I needed to stay overnight, I was anxious and afraid. As someone with a deeply traumatic past, I couldn't believe it when I was asked if I needed to have my door knocked on before nursing staff entered. I answered in the affirmative, with no hope that my desires would be honored, based on years at other hospitals where my requests for personal care were ignored altogether.
Though my partner is an exceptional, award-winning nurse, as a woman with trauma, having a male nurse can be fearsome and triggering. When Jake Huckins, RN, came on shift, he knocked on my door, entered only after I acknowledged him, and checked my lines while he spoke to me softly and kindly. We talked about craft beer and why I was there, intermingled in such a way that I never doubted my personhood, as I so often have in other facilities. Jake was beyond competent with his medical expertise but, more than that, he allayed my fear and trauma responses simply by being the respectful, kind, competent, and caring nurse-and person-that he is.
Throughout the night, Jake had to check on me, administer meds, give me an injection in my belly, and just make sure I was ok; not one single time did he forget to knock and afford me the agency to answer him-he will never know what a gift that was. I was once a patient in an OB/GYN unit after a surgical procedure, and I requested that the staff knock before entering so I wouldn't be startled. Not once was that request acknowledged or obliged, and Jake did it every single time.
At one point, my arm throbbed with pain because of the IV placement. Jake noticed my pain, assessed the situation, took it seriously, brought me hot packs without being asked, and switched the IV to a different location so I wouldn't be in pain any longer-all while treating me with respect and like my experience mattered, which was foreign to me.
If I can say nothing else, I would say that Jake's medical competence is second to none. But his ability to assess patients and see us as human beings with unique needs who deserve dignity and respect is what sets him apart and makes him an exceptional candidate for the DAISY Award.
Though my partner is an exceptional, award-winning nurse, as a woman with trauma, having a male nurse can be fearsome and triggering. When Jake Huckins, RN, came on shift, he knocked on my door, entered only after I acknowledged him, and checked my lines while he spoke to me softly and kindly. We talked about craft beer and why I was there, intermingled in such a way that I never doubted my personhood, as I so often have in other facilities. Jake was beyond competent with his medical expertise but, more than that, he allayed my fear and trauma responses simply by being the respectful, kind, competent, and caring nurse-and person-that he is.
Throughout the night, Jake had to check on me, administer meds, give me an injection in my belly, and just make sure I was ok; not one single time did he forget to knock and afford me the agency to answer him-he will never know what a gift that was. I was once a patient in an OB/GYN unit after a surgical procedure, and I requested that the staff knock before entering so I wouldn't be startled. Not once was that request acknowledged or obliged, and Jake did it every single time.
At one point, my arm throbbed with pain because of the IV placement. Jake noticed my pain, assessed the situation, took it seriously, brought me hot packs without being asked, and switched the IV to a different location so I wouldn't be in pain any longer-all while treating me with respect and like my experience mattered, which was foreign to me.
If I can say nothing else, I would say that Jake's medical competence is second to none. But his ability to assess patients and see us as human beings with unique needs who deserve dignity and respect is what sets him apart and makes him an exceptional candidate for the DAISY Award.