DAISY Award—Allison Kelly, B.S.N., R.N., P.C.C.N.

Allison Kelly, B.S.N., R.N., P.C.C.N.
East 6 Cardiothoracic PCU

I am nominating Sultanna Iden for this award because of her decades of exemplary nursing care that I believe qualifies for recognition. You ask for a single clinical situation, but I can tell you of scores of impressive clinical encounters I have witnessed over decades of working with Nurse Iden. She demonstrates utter devotion to children with diabetes. She leads them through the initial shock that occurs with the new diagnosis and educates them in the complexities of therapy. She uplifts their spirits when they are feeling down because of the difficulty in learning to deal with the daily requirements of this disease. She never gives up when a family appears unable to care for a child because of limited understanding or, unfortunately, lack of interest in the details of the care of the child. Her work is in the outpatient environment where we care for this chronic condition and where we lead the families in their journey over years. I will point to one particular teenager who would not perform the daily blood sugar monitoring nor insulin injections for a long period of time. Her devoted mother was surprised when we found this out but the teenager was not ready to perform the tasks that are required for optimal control. Nonetheless she cried when her lack of control was pointed out indicating her wish to do better but at that point in her life the inability to do so which led to her frustration. Sultanna focused on the family and over a period of months brought them to the realization that good blood sugar control was within their reach. This teenager’s blood sugar values decreased into the target range and she became an exemplary patient with diabetes. This teenager graduated high school and ultimately went to college demonstrating excellent control as she left for her dormitory. She aged out of Pediatrics at 21 years of age but we still regularly receive grateful comments from the family pointing out the role that Nurse Iden played in this girl's life. I find this a remarkable example of nurse Iden’s devotion to her patients and her success in her efforts to ensure excellent care. Let me reiterate that I gave you one example but there are hundreds I've witnessed!