Despina Smith, RN, honored with DAISY Award
Congratulations to Despina Smith, RN, AAMC’s most recent DAISY Award recipient.
This national foundation and award was established to recognize extraordinary bedside nurses, honoring the compassion, knowledge and care that they provide their patients every day.
Despina was honored on a Saturday evening by her Oncology coworkers, who secretly assembled into a daisy-decorated conference room to pull off the surprise. When Despina’s shock wore off, Sherry B. Perkins, AAMC’s Chief Nursing Officer, extended her congratulations and the award, followed by physician colleague, Peter Graze, MD, who presented her with a beautiful DAISY pin.
Then Chaundra Hamilton, RN, read her nomination letter. Here is an excerpt:
Despina consistently models what a caring, competent, thoughtful R.N. is for the newer staff and her colleagues… always thinking critically regarding patient clinical status, while weaving holistic family-centered care into her practice.
As an RN on Oncology, she deals with families in very vulnerable times filled with grief, fear, and denial. Despina has a gentle demeanor, friendly nature, and a quick smile that put patients and families at ease. As our weekend Charge RN, she provides constant support and guidance; placing her team’s needs as a priority.
Despina is a valuable resource as a preceptor and consistent role model for her staff. Recently, after finishing her 12-hour shift, she took the initiative to drive and pick up a patient’s daughter so that this young lady would have a chance to see her mother one last time and say goodbye during a particularly emotional and sudden demise. I firmly believe this type of going above and beyond is what being a DAISY award winner is about!
Way to go, Despina! View pictures of this event on AAMC’s SmugMug page: annearundelmedicalcenter.smugmug.com/
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