Out of sincere respect and admiration for her performance as a nurse, I nominate Kim Benke for the DAISY Award. Kim began working in the chemotherapy infusion clinic last year, after transitioning from a PRN schedule to working full-time. She had no prior experience with oncology patients, and knew very little about the complex nature of the various chemotherapy treatment regimens that we administer in our clinic. In all honesty, at the time she was hired, we were in the midst of a staffing crisis and I was concerned that the position might be overwhelming for her. The nursing care we provide in our clinic is highly specialized, and we often function with total autonomy. Kim entered our clinic and made an immediate impact on both staff and patients. Her display of interest, excitement, and dedication towards learning about oncology was reminiscent of how a new graduate would approach their first job. Within weeks after starting in the position, she pursued earning her chemotherapy/biotherapy provider certification. Now she has become one of the strongest, if not the strongest, performer in our clinic.
Kim's work ethic is relentless and consistent. She routinely offers to help other staff members in carrying out their respective patient care tasks, and often will assign herself higher acuity-level patients. What stands out about Kim is her positive presence as a leader and as a mentor to other staff. She possesses this remarkable ability to express herself assertively, while maintaining respect for other's opinions. She remains processional and objective when participating in group discussions and displays an always positive outlook towards resolving patient care issues. In short, Kim is one of those rare nurses who inspires everyone around her to be better, better as nurses, better as coworkers, better as communicators, better as people.