DAISY Award—Samantha Quinn, B.S.N., R.N., O.C.N.
Samantha Quinn, B.S.N., R.N., O.C.N.
Davis 8 Oncology/BMT Unit
Day 1
Samantha Quinn was the primary nurse for our family when my husband underwent EPOCH chemotherapy for a stage 4 lymphoma. He had been misdiagnosed in another health system, treated for the wrong condition and that treatment, while wrong even failed to meet the standard of care. This resulted in an opportunistic lung infection and near respiratory collapse when we took him to UC Davis emergency department. They saved his life and the medicine team aggressively pursued diagnostics, coordinating with multiple specialty teams to establish the diagnosis and transferred him to the Oncology service. I provide this background only to describe that we were totally unprepared for the severity of his illness, witnessing how sick he was, and for the grueling journey facing us. In other words, we were a stoic mess!
Nurse Quinn met us, introduced herself, and immediately and compassionately connected with the patient, myself as his wife and our visiting daughter, who in addition to her father is also a physician. Ms. Quinn, who we came to know as Sam, did not know our professional backgrounds. She intuitively and immediately partnered with all of us in his plan of care and meeting his needs and ours, anticipating and providing explanation along the way matched to our need to know and process.
Day 2
Sam exemplified compassion, intellect, integrity, competence, humor, patient/family partnership, and leadership. She set the tone for our journey through chemotherapy and was a skilled communicator as our primary nurse with the entire team providing care. When diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma following an emergency admission for sepsis and impending respiratory failure, Sam was our first contact. We were unprepared for the diagnosis, the severity of illness, and the daunting journey before us. Sam lent us courage as we needed it. She listened with respect and empathy and never allowed our fear or my husband’s reluctance or excuses to stand the way of progressing his care, like ambulating or showering with multiple lines and infusions. He felt safe. Leaving after the course of treatment, she whispered to him with love and characteristic good humor, I never want to see you again! He is now in complete remission, and we speak of Sam often and hold her in our hearts. She gave us both grit to deal with the realities we were facing with factual and timely information and the hope that he would get through this and survive to see his grandchildren grow up and be part of their lives. The skill and kindness exemplified by Sam and evidenced by the whole team, gives us hope for the future of nursing and healthcare, a field that we have dedicated our lives to. With great respect and admiration, we appreciate the opportunity to nominate Samantha Quinn for a Daisy Award.