Extraordinary Nursing Faculty, Preceptor and Student Recognized with DAISY Awards at Mount Marty University

A nursing faculty, preceptor and a student at Mount Marty University were honored with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty and Extraordinary Nursing Student during the Nursing Pinning Ceremony held May 5, 2023. The awards are part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to express gratitude to Nurses with programs that recognize them for the extraordinary, compassionate and skillful care they provide to patients and families. 

The DAISY Foundation expanded its flagship brand The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to Academic Institutions in order to recognize the faculty who inspire compassionate care in their students and the students who demonstrate it during their education. “We honor faculty who inspire nurses to care like Patrick’s nurses cared for him and our family. Recognizing and celebrating nursing students for the above-and-beyond care and compassion they show to patients and their families will be a strong reminder that nursing is not all about tasks and technology,” said Bonnie Barnes, CEO and Co-Founder of The DAISY Foundation. 

Nursing Faculty, Preceptors and Students may be nominated by colleagues, peers, patients, family or alumni. The award recipients are chosen by a committee at Mount Marty University to receive The DAISY Award which will be given annually at the Pinning Ceremony. Each honoree receives a certificate, a DAISY Award pin and a beautiful and meaningful sculpture called a Healer’s touch, hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. 

“It is with great pleasure that we developed a partnership with The DAISY Foundation to recognize faculty, preceptors and students for the extraordinary work that they do,” Dr. Carol Stewart, MMU Nursing faculty and MMU DAISY Program Coordinator. 

About the recipients

The student recipient, Sara Cashman, is a family nurse practitioner student from central South Dakota. Her faculty, preceptors and peers have worked with her in various capacities throughout her time at MMU. They report that she exemplifies the type of person and provider who would be chosen as their healthcare provider, and would be recommended to others. She is professional as well as being kind and personable. She has exhibited sincere care for others whether it be classmates, faculty, co-workers, and/or clinical staff at her clinical sites. Sara provides excellent care, and encourages others to be better in their roles. She demonstrates the Mount Marty core values, demonstrates Benedictine values in all interactions, and is the type of nurse you want on your team. She persevered during difficult times while in school but kept forging ahead, always putting the needs of others first. 

The preceptor recipient, Heidi Gehrke, was reported to be an excellent preceptor and mentor.  One nominator reported, “It was evident from my first day of clinical that she has a passion for preparing students for their future careers.”  What was admired about her the most is that she would stop mid visit with a patient to teach a lesson related to the patient’s condition or differential diagnoses – teaching the patient and the student. She always allows the opportunity for students to ask questions and make recommendations. She is respectful of the student recommendations of care, whether right or wrong and kindly explains and takes time to teach if an incorrect suggestion is made. She made sure to save time at the end of each day for finishing charts and doing chart reviews. Students report she would specifically go through each chart and she would make sure the student had a clear understanding of what was done and why for each patient. Heidi prompts students to thoroughly care for complex patients and is constantly challenging students to learn. She works to instill confidence in students so that they are prepared to move forward into practice. Students report being grateful for their time with this preceptor. Heidi has served as a MMU preceptor for many years. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Avera Grasslands Clinic in Mitchell, SD. 

The faculty recipient, Dr. Heather Swanson, demonstrates a passion for teaching that is inspiring to those around her. One nominator stated, “she is very intelligent and loves sharing her knowledge with anyone who will listen. She strives to produce the best future NPs, and also helped me outside of the classroom as a mentor and preceptor. I was able to see her practitioner side and learned that she cares about her patients just as much as she does her students. She treated all of her patients with respect and dignity no matter the circumstance which helped me learn and grow as a student and overall person. I am very grateful for my time with her and look to continue future mentorship as I enter practice!” Heather continuously is seeking ways to improve courses, processes and policies. She has served as an advocate and mentor to many during her time at MMU.