Meaningful recognition
In 2020, the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery published a proposal to develop a Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Advancement.
As part of the scoping work carried out by Professor Marie Carney, we identified core competencies for the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Advancement to deliver on. One of these priorities was the acknowledgement and rewarding of professional values in action.
With the ever-present challenges within healthcare settings, recognition for the work that healthcare workers do can play a role in restoring positive energy whilst counteracting the effects of burnout.
The following award programmes are helping to create healthy work environments whilst having positive impacts on work engagement and staff retention:
The not-for-profit DAISY Foundation is based in California, USA and was established by family members in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. The DAISY acronym refers to Diseases Attacking the Immune/SYstem. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses throughout his brief illness inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.
The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery began its sponsorship of the DAISY Award and supported the rollout of the DAISY Award programme in 2021.
The Faculty has sponsored the awarding over 80 honourees, 600 nominees, six Lifetime Achievement Awards and four Team Awards across the region since the campaigns inception. We are privileged to be invited to attend DAISY Award ceremonies throughout the HSE DNE to hear the wonderful nomination stories of nurses going above and beyond in the delivery of compassionate care. The nomination process provides a voice to patients, families and other staff who want to recognise and acknowledgement of the value and impact of nurses’ work and remind us of why we do what we do.
In February 2024, the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Advancement identified that the creation of a meaningful recognition programme specifically for midwives in the HSE DNE as a priority for the Centre.
On International Day of the Midwife 2025, after a collaborative process of design and creation the Excellence in Midwifery Award programme was launched in The Rotunda Hospital Dublin, Cavan Monaghan Women and Children’s Services, and Louth Hospitals Women and Children’s Services. Both the Rotunda and Louth Hospitals Women and Children’s Services held their inaugural Excellence in Midwifery Award ceremonies in December 2025.
Providing a forum in which service users, their families and health professionals can highlight and celebrate midwives who have made a significant impact on them through the delivery of compassionate care, not only gives a voice to those nominating but acts as a reminder of what matters to those we care for.
Healthcare assistants (HCAs) are an integral part of the nursing and midwifery team, supporting nurses and midwives in care delivery as their administrative workloads increase.
Accounting for 14% of the healthcare workforce (HSE, 2025), HCAs spend a significant amount of time with patients and are key to the delivery of quality healthcare.
The global pandemic catapulted healthcare to the fore as the system and its staff were under unprecedented pressure. During this time the value of recognition for the healthcare team and in particular HCAs became even more apparent.
The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery supported the development of an awards programme to recognise the contributions of HCAs to patient care and the nursing team. And, in 2022, the first award ceremony took place in Beaumont Hospital and they have since rolled out across the HSE DNE hospitals region.
The nursing team in Beaumont Hospital designed the ‘open heart’ pin, signifying the compassion and care of HCAs.
For more information about our Meaningful Recognition Awards, please contact denisejmckernan@rcsi.com.