The DAISY Nurse-Leader in Compassionate Bedside Care: A Collaborative Model for Membership in Sigma

Concepts associated with growth and development are important to Sigma, to academic and clinical organizations and most importantly to individual nurses providing care to patients. Leadership succession and membership growth are key to sustaining Sigma and its chapters. Establishing strong relationships with healthcare organizations is crucial to the success of academic programs in educating students who desire to join the nursing workforce. Meaningful recognition of extraordinary clinical skills delivered with compassion contributes to the positive work environment of healthcare organizations, nurse engagement and the patient and family experience. The DAISY Award, an international standard for extraordinary and compassionate care, is one way clinical nurses have been meaningfully recognized by their organization.

In collaboration, a healthcare organization and a Sigma chapter identified opportunities to bring these concepts together to provide a professional growth and development experience for all with meaningful recognition as an important element. Over the course of three years, representing three planning cycles for this pilot program, a healthcare organization and the Sigma chapter brought recognition to bedside leaders with induction into Sigma Theta Tau. This collaboration has resulted in joint presentations with CE awarded, bringing clinicians and academic leaders together, increased awareness of the value of Sigma membership, and most importantly the recognition of nurses who are leading from the bedside. The DAISY Award recognition has provided bedside nursing leaders an opportunity to be recognized as community leaders by Sigma Theta Tau, with induction into the local chapter. Induction into the nursing honor society and celebration of this accomplishment provides a message to others of the value placed in bedside leaders. This has been a win-win experience for the individual recipients but also for the organizations involved. This process has provided a proving ground to develop this model and establish its value as a way for other organizations to recognize clinical leaders. When clinical leaders become involved in the activities of Sigma their professional growth and development has a direct connection to improving the quality of our healthcare workforce. By bringing Sigma and the academic university chapter to the healthcare organization, awareness and opportunities were identified to fuel the growth, development and sustainment for all concerned. The program and the lessons learned from the experience will be shared as a roadmap for others interested in developing their own program.