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A Memorable Nomination

Danika Guenther ’19, a nursing major from Alexandria, Minn., spent her summer working as a nursing intern at Essentia Health, Fargo, N.D., but her last shift ended with a bit of a surprise.

At 11 p.m. on her last day, Guenther found an envelope in the mail; inside was a Daisy Pin, something interns rarely receive. 

“Something crazy, amazing happened. I had been nominated not by one, but two of my patients,” she said.  

Guenther’s internship preceptor looked at her with a huge smile and exclaimed, “Danika! I have never, ever, ever heard of a student nurse receiving one of these!”

“Students typically don’t receive Daisy Pins as they are not employees, but since Danika was an intern with us she was eligible,” said Christie Evanger, clinical education manager at Essentia.

Pins are given to all employees who get nominated for the award and those nominated are eligible to receive the Daisy Award, which is given monthly.  

“If students are nominated, those nominations typically come from patients and/or their families,” Evanger said. 

The Daisy Foundation created theDAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of society’s profound respect for their education, training, skill and caring. The foundation, an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, was formed in November 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Barnes received when hospitalized profoundly touched his family. 

The family formed the foundation as a thank you for the gifts nurses give their patients and families after the kindness, compassion and excellent care the nurses gave Barnes in his eight weeks of hospitalization. 

“It is highly unusual for a student to receive this merit-based recognition for excellence in consistent, compassionate care,” said Dr. Polly Kloster, associate professor of nursing. “The Daisy Award is typically given to a nurse. Although we have had Concordia nurse alumni receive the Daisy Award, it is truly exciting to have one of our nursing students receive this honor. Danika exemplifies what it means to be a Cobber nursing student who embraces her chosen profession as vocation.”

More than 3,000 healthcare facilities in all 50 states and 19 countries are now committed to honoring their nurses with the Daisy Award. 

“Just by itself this internship was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had, but receiving a Daisy Award nomination on top of that is such an honor and I am still just as excited now as I was when I first got the pin. This whole experience really validated my passion and love for the OB nursing world and all of the amazing patients that come with it,” Guenther said.