On June 21st, Jen Gronniger was “shocked” when the group gathered on her home unit of Mother/Baby to celebrate her DAISY award. “I just couldn’t believe it was for me,” states Jen. But her colleagues, and those who nominated her were not surprised at all. A nursing student assigned one shift to Jen wrote on the nomination form, “Today was my 6th clinical day in my OB rotation and Jen was by far the most caring and competent nurse I had the privilege to shadow. Many times today when new moms were stressed out, she always had a smile and knew how to comfort them. There were many instances while I shadowed Jen that I felt she went above and beyond...Jen did a great job of sitting down and establishing a rapport while explaining….she was also patient and kind with me and willing to help me learn.”
Not only is she a nurse mentor, but her care for her patients shines as a new mother also nominated Jen. “Jen was great to us during our stay after the birth of our daughter. She was very attentive and answered all of our questions, with a ton of patience. She helped make our/my recovery experience a great one, Thanks Jen!”
Jen is a graduate of Fort Hays State University and has been a Registered nurse since 2003. She has recently changed career paths from renal to mother baby nursing two years ago where she easily relates to her patients as a mother of three young children. Active in the Magnet journey at North Kansas City Hospital, Jen has contributed to a Magnet component team. Jen plans to sit for her nursing certification in maternal newborn nursing in September. Congratulations, Jen, as your nurse manager states, you are a “wonderful teammate and exemplary nurse.”