Melissa Jamieson, Registered Nurse in the Ambulatory Neurosurgery Clinic, was honored recently as a DAISY Award recipient for VCU Medical Center. The DAISY Award represents meaningful recognition for nurses who have impacted individual patients, their families or a population of patients.
Melissa was nominated by a family member of a patient. An excerpt from the nomination is below:
My husband had a gradual decline in function and personality and was very uncertain about recommended brain surgery. His choice was disheartening, since his prognosis included continued decline, making him unsafe at home.
Over several months, his thinking and reasoning suffered. My husband agreed to return to the neurological center and we were blessed to have Melissa Jamieson as our nurse that day. It's a day that I will never forget. She knew he was coming to discuss a shunt procedure and she came to the waiting area to greet him, making him relaxed and comfortable.
Melissa embraced his concerns with wisdom, kindness, compassion, empathy and a sense of friendship. She guided him through the procedure, showed him the device and addressed his questions -- all of which aided him in deciding to pursue the surgery. I have tears in my eyes just telling this story.
Every day, I am thankful to see his improvement from the surgery and for the first time in over a year, I feel happy and at peace. Melissa nursed us medically and emotionally. Her compassion and skill not only made a meaningful difference in our care, it made a meaningful difference in our lives!!!!
We are forever grateful. Thank you!
The DAISY Award was created by the family of J. Patrick Barnes, a patient who died of complications of the autoimmune disease idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) at the age of 33. DAISY is an acronym for these types of diseases. During his eight-week hospitalization, his family was “awestruck by the care and compassion his nurses provided” and decided to find a way to honor nurses everywhere.