It is with great honor and excitement that I nominate Jennifer Hahn, RN, BSN, CPN, for the DAISY Lifetime Nomination award. Jen, a clinical nurse expert on the 4th-floor MedSurg Unit at CHOP's King of Prussia campus, is truly a remarkable bedside clinician and leader. She pours her heart and soul into every patient that crosses her path. She is passionate about her work, and it shows day in and day out. Jen has nearly 30 years of service at CHOP. She has grown tremendously throughout her career as a 4E/4S bedside surgical nurse, charge nurse, and clinical nurse expert on both 4E/4S and KOP CHOP 4th floor. Jen has capitalized on many professional development opportunities, such as becoming a Crisis Prevention and Intervention instructor, hospital-wide safe patient handling lead, hospital-wide skin champion, PEARS instructor, PEAK coach, and coordinating nursing simulation activities. Not only is Jen committed to expanding educational opportunities for our nursing staff to better serve our patients and families, but she is also committed to advancing her own education by attending conferences and new-information sessions on a regular basis. Jen is always diving into any situation where her help is needed. When staffing for the nursing house supervisor position was scarce, Jen stepped up to serve as interim house supervisor. Just last week, a behavioral health patient was transferred to another facility. Prior to the transfer, the EMS team felt it would best support the patient's safety and well-being if a nurse accompanied the patient on the ambulance ride. Jen arrived at work early, before her scheduled flu clinic shift, and offered to accompany the patient on the transfer to Philadelphia. She was not scheduled to be in patient care at the time, but saw an opportunity to help and did. She insisted on supporting this patient during the transfer as they had already developed a rapport on a previous shift. 

Recently, we had a patient recovering from a perforated appendicitis on the unit. This patient felt icky, and Jen provided exceptional support for her recovery. Jen checked in with the nurses to ensure an adequate pain management plan was in place. She also checked in with the family to provide support and encouragement. Jen encouraged the patient to shower and get to the chair for the day. This set the patient up for greater success at the start of the day. She used the incentive spirometer as a game to improve her pulmonary clearance and created a daily schedule with the patient. This is just one example of so many experiences of Jen always doing the best thing for all patients on the KOP 4th floor and throughout CHOP. She sets an amazing example of nursing excellence on our unit. In certain clinical situations, I find myself asking, "What would Jen do?"

Clinically, Jen is our expert on Emergency care and Surgical nursing. She educates herself and then shares knowledge with us on all topics related to emergency care. She reviews each CAT call or CODE at the CHOP King of Prussia campus. She then shares all lessons learned with the staff, and specifically our charge nurses. After an event debrief, Jen saw an opportunity to address a knowledge gap and organized an educational session for all nurses with our respiratory therapists. Patient safety is Jen's number one priority. Not an event goes by without Jen pushing us to be better and stronger for the next patient who needs our urgent or emergent care. Jen often facilitates nursing simulations and promotes the simulation space as a safe environment for learning. Jen welcomes questions and challenges our critical thinking skills. There are often new surgical diagnoses brought to King of Prussia, and Jen frequently facilitates the appropriate education to ensure all staff feel comfortable and prepared to safely care for each surgical population.

Jen always looks at care through the eyes of her patients. And when I say "her patients," I mean all the patients and families who spend time on the unit, not just her assigned patients. She is the first one to "get her hands dirty" and jump into any situation, big or small, to support clinical care. Jen is always challenging me to think outside the box and holds staff accountable to a high standard of nursing care. For example, the other day I asked her to assist with an IV placement. Instantly, Jen suggested using the treatment room and an iPad cartoon to ensure patient comfort during the procedure. Jen develops an incredible rapport with her patients and families. I often see her stopping in her tracks to cheer on our patients during their moments of success, such as our post-op spinal fusion patient ambulating in the hall for the first time after surgery. She makes patients feel comfortable and significantly aids their recovery. She approaches families professionally with great confidence, all while making the patients laugh. She is a role model to all nurses at CHOP. She truly makes a difference in the recovery of every patient she encounters.

Not a day goes by that I am not truly thankful to work with such an accountable, passionate, and patient-centered nurse as Jen. She has taught me a lot about giving "it your all" even on the tough days. Our patients and families are better for having received care from Jennifer Hahn. Our 4th-floor staff is lucky to have Jen as a leader on our team.