It is with high honors that I nominate Marsha Herbst for the DAISY Award. I was welcomed into the nursing profession by Marsha in November 2009 when I accepted a full-time position on the Surgical Services Unit. I was very nervous about my new career and Marsha was very supportive of me. She offered many words of encouragement and was eager to share her wealth of medical knowledge.
I learned early in our relationship that Marsha had been a nurse for many years and realized that she was just as passionate about nursing today as she was the day she began her career almost forty years ago as a candy striper. Marsha began my orientation with a very impressive statement. She said, “It is my pleasure and responsibility to teach you; however I hope to learn equally as much from you.” This message was in no way meant to intimidate me. Marsha has a lot of respect for the advancements in the nursing profession and recognizes and welcomes new medical discoveries.
Marsha strives to do her best every day and continues to learn all that she can about patient care and medical technology. She is very skilled in her practice and provides great care to each and every patient. She frequently reads nursing journals and welcomes discussions about advancements in nursing practice. She takes nothing for granted and is always willing to further facilitate the necessity of medical modifications. She diligently takes notes at every meeting, in-service and training session so that she may share new found information with her colleagues.
She is a pleasure to work with and a joy to be around. She is active in her community and does her best to contribute all she can to the health and safety of others. She has been an active member of the American Society for Peri-Anesthesia Nurses for many decades. Marsha takes the initiative to actively seek out ways to improve patient care. She routinely checks on her coworkers, friends and family and is always willing to provide support to others.
It is evident that Marsha finds great joy in caring for others. I have witnessed her at the bedside with irritated patients who have been anxious or in pain. She works with great care and compassion when assessing and providing medical and emotional support. Each patient that Marsha cares for is treated individually and holistically. She is conscientious and holds a high regard for patient rights to privacy and respect. She makes patients and family members feel at ease by working with utmost poise to skillfully provide care that displays both confidence and compassion.
Marsha is eager to learn and stays abreast in the advances in medical technology. Even though she retired prior to the implementation of the electronic medical record, Marsha attended classes and training to enhance her understanding of this system. She continues to work per diem and is an integral part of the surgical services team. We are fortunate to have a well-trained, skilled, talented, caring, and compassionate nurse that has the desire, patience and willingness to continue teach and learn at the closing stages of her career. Marsha is the epitome of nursing and her legacy will continue through all those she has precepted.