When I looked up the definition of a leader, this is what I got: “A person who guides and influences others to achieve a common goal, possessing characteristics such as vision, motivation, inspiration, and the ability to earn trust and foster a shared purpose.” The leader of our team matches this description. Whether she is educating us on proper care of a patient in suicide precautions, appropriate medication administration, or working to improve our patient satisfaction scores, she is guiding us all to provide the best patient care we can.

Our leader is one of a kind. I would call her the “fun” one of any group. She once did a cartwheel at a recruiting event just to prove she could do one (FYI: she did hire an RN there because of this and they still work here). She is fiercely competitive. At an intern event, she pushed an intern out of her way to get one of the last spots in a game of musical chairs. This intern took an RN position as well. She dressed in an inflatable turkey suit to have fun around Thanksgiving and spread information about our Magnet journey. She has a bubbly personality that makes us all feel comfortable and makes us feel like we are talking to a friend rather than a boss.

She is always supportive of the team. She will randomly buy snacks for the unit when it has been a difficult shift. This is in addition to all the snacks she has in her office for the daily snack attacks staff have. She works hard to make sure everyone on the team has the items they need to make their job easier. She has worked tirelessly with other teams to obtain items such as a coffee machine, blanket warmer, linen carts, and add supplies to the PAR cart, while also organizing the clean utility room in a way that makes sense to nurses. The unit knows they can go to her for questions or concerns. Our leader encourages us and challenges us to be the best nurses/nursing assistants we can be.

She is a leader even among her peers. She is always one to speak up about concerns when others won’t. She has been a preceptor for students during their leadership practicums. She has been a mentor to other new managers and is a go-to for any leader needing advice.

Our leader has encouraged many of us to get our certifications. She provided the education materials and assisted with sign-up and adjusting work schedules for the review courses. She puts up digital screens celebrating those who became certified. Our leader does more than talk the talk. She didn’t just encourage staff to become certified; she also got certified herself! She, of course, didn’t recognize herself like she did other team members (I did make a digital screen to celebrate her).

Whether she is doing cartwheels or dressing up in funny costumes, we know we are supported by our leader. There are many past staff who say they always intended to move on, but they stayed longer due to the leadership and team we have. Current staff say the biggest reason why they are still here is the leadership. We are so lucky to have her as our leader! There are probably a million more things I could list to show you how great our leader is, but these are just some examples of how amazing and brilliant she is. She deserves to be recognized for all the hard work she does to support, motivate, and inspire us! This is why she should win the DAISY Leader Award!