The DAISY Awards for Nursing Ethics in Practice and Leadership
Generously sponsored by Careismatic Brands
The DAISY Foundation and the American Nurses Association’s Center for Ethics and Human Rights developed the national DAISY Awards for Nursing Ethics in Practice and Leadership in 2024 to recognize nurses whose leadership, compassion, and clinical practice demonstrate the importance of human values and ethics in nursing. Two awards – one for a clinician and one for a nurse leader- are presented during the National Nursing Ethics Conference, usually held in Los Angeles in the Spring.
View Past Honorees
2025
2024
2025
2025 ANA DAISY Award for Ethics in Nursing Practice
Lisa O’Brien, MS, ASN, RN, CCRN,CPN
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital
Lisa O’Brien was recognized for her blend of unwavering advocacy, education, moral courage and ethical responsibility. As the sole clinical nurse representative on her organization’s ethics committee, she has provided a crucial voice in addressing complex ethical dilemmas within the healthcare environment. Her engagement and commitment to these ethical discussions reaches beyond the committee onto the units and amongst the interdisciplinary team, which has elevated standards of care and influenced ethical communication with patient families. Her dedication to ethics education has enabled colleagues and peers to integrate ethical considerations into daily practice. One nomination submission cited a specific situation where she identified a major area of concern, poor communication about clinical condition leading to ethical decision-making. She then escalated it and collaborated with leadership to create change. Lisa puts her passion for ethics into action, helping to create an environment that upholds patients’ rights and human values while protecting the safety of the patient and family.
2025 ANA DAISY Award for Ethics in Nursing Leadership
Dr. Joyce Neumann, Ph.D., APRN, AOCN, HEC-C, FAAN, Clinical
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Dr. Joyce Neumann was selected for her 30+ years of significant ethical contributions within her institution and beyond. Her numerous accomplishments encompass impactful teaching, thoughtful mentoring and consultation, results-driven research and the development of systems to support an ethical environment. She played a key role in establishing a standing nursing ethics action team within her institution’s Nursing Practice Congress and launching the Ethics in Nursing Practice Program (ENPP) within her organization. As part of the ENPP, she initiated the Clinical Ethics Resource Nurse (CERN) program, aimed at integrating a nurse into each inpatient unit and clinic to enhance ethical sensitivity and awareness, emphasizing preventative ethics. On a broader scale, she has authored 12 publications, focusing on ethical issues in oncology care, quality of life and moral distress, compassion fatigue and burnout experienced by healthcare providers. Her research has helped identify the root causes of moral distress, evaluation of the unit’s ethical climate and the implementation of interventions to help nurses improve communication with patients, mitigate moral distress, enhance nurse-patient relationships and provide goal-concordant care. She is a leader locally, nationally and internationally in advancing ethical behavior within nursing and healthcare.
2024
2024 ANA DAISY Award for Ethics in Nursing Practice
Lisa Wall, Ph.D., CNS, AOCNS
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Lisa Wall, described by peers as a Pioneer of Ethics, was selected for her numerous contributions to ethical awareness and ethical decision-making including published articles about ethical issues, the creation of an undergraduate ethics curriculum, her candid communication skills, fierce advocacy, and collaboration with other disciplines to protect patient rights, articulate respect, dignity and worthiness, and the unique attributes of all.
2024 ANA DAISY Award for Ethics in Nursing Leadership
Lori K. Raffaniello , MSN, RN, NE-BC
Mount Sinai South Nassau
Lori Raffaniello was recognized for her unwavering commitment to the safe, ethical care of patients, staff, and community. Examples within her nomination included providing a safe and nonjudgmental environment for staff to voice concerns, co-chairing the ethics committee for the last 15 years, collaborating with interdisciplinary team members and elevating ethical and morally distressing concerns for discussion as well as the implementation of plans and processes to improve family and staff comfort around difficult ethical decisions.