Mardisa Samson-Ramos, MSN, BSN, RN, right, with Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC, AOCN, FAAN, Chief Nursing Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital.
The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses was created in 1999 to honor the compassionate care that nurses provide for patients and family members. DAISY Nurses are recognized for the acts of kindness and the sensitivity they demonstrate every day—the things that make a profound difference in a patient’s experience in health care. The DAISY Nurse Leader Award was created for a different purpose—to shine a light on the managers and others who do not typically have direct patient care as part of their work but are responsible for creating the environment where compassionate care by clinicians can thrive. The people who nominate them for the DAISY Nurse Leader Award are typically their staff, who describe the impact leaders have on their ability to provide high-quality, compassionate care.
Mardisa Samson-Ramos, MSN, BSN, RN, a nurse in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at The Mount Sinai Hospital, was awarded the hospital’s 2022 Daisy Nurse Leader Award. Mardisa came to Mount Sinai in 1986, working at the bedside for 27 years, moving on to become a nurse manager. In 2019, she assisted in the opening of the Liver Transplant Intensive Care Unit (TICU) and assumed the nurse leader role for both SICU and TICU.
The praise she has garnered from members of her staff demonstrates why she was a top contender for this recognition. Here are just a few of their comments:
“Mardisa’s dedicated, energetic, and familial spirit makes the Surgical ICU not just a workplace but a home for many of us that work with her. What makes Mardisa stand out to me is Mardisa’s immense humility, dedication, and love for the Surgical ICU. During my time in the SICU/TICU Mardisa has earned the respect of her colleagues, physicians, staff, patients and hospital leadership due to her enthusiasm for nursing excellence, knowledge advancement, and consideration towards everyone she encounters. Prior to the rollout of the Surgical ICU’s first tracheal transplant recipient, Mardisa, in coordination with our educator, made it a priority that the nurses felt adequately supported and trained. Mardisa wakes up prior to 5 am to spend an hour every morning sitting with every ICU patient and to bring staff breakfast that she has lovingly cooked.”
“Mardisa is available to her staff 24/7. She shows great concern for unit and staff safety and goes the extra mile to assure her unit is adequately staffed to minimize stress and optimize patient care. Nurses have felt at ease calling on her at all times of day and through the night as well. She is known to awaken at home and during the night to address any issue on the unit and discuss resolutions with the staff. Her huddles are well known for open communication and review of patient management and ICU protocol. She cares for the morale of her staff and frequently cooks and bakes for them. She is an exceptional professional intent on ensuring quality care and unit cohesiveness, totally dedicated to nursing her staff and units.”
Mardisa explains the meaning of Mount Sinai as a family:
“The teamwork, collaboration, respect, and caring for one another is always there, and has been reflected in our Silver Beacon award for Nursing Excellence in March of this year. We always provide the utmost support for each other inside and outside of the work environment. This is the legacy that has been passed on to me by my predecessors, which I aim to carry on. This is the place where you build lifetime memories and friendship.
“I am truly grateful and humbled to receive this award. I feel that my dedication and hard work to the Surgical ICU and Transplant has been blessed. It has always been my goal to create a positive work environment, where the team is happy and feels supported. Most importantly, I share my award with my SICU family, because if not for their continued support, I would not be the leader that I am now.”