WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md.   –   At 26, Christina Ferguson became a nurse, fulfilling a lifelong dream, she said. Since then, she has served and advanced in the field, going from staff nurse to nurse manager, nurse consultant, senior nurse consultant, and now nurse liaison for the Defense Health Agency (DHA).

But Ferguson explained it’s the essence of nursing, the patient care, that has always appealed to her and remains a passion.

“What I find most rewarding about being a nurse is the effect you have on patients and their families,” she shared. “I guess I’m all about taking care of others, and I’m in the perfect occupation to do it. You can’t get any better than that.”

It’s that passion for taking care of patients and their families that earned Ferguson the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award. Hospital leadership at Walter Reed presented her with the award following Thursday morning colors at the medical center during Nurses Week (May 6-12).

Joan LoepkerDuncan, chief nurse in charge of the Cardiology Service and coordinator for the DAISY program at Walter Reed, explained that the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award “was created to recognize nurses who have devoted their life’s work to the compassionate care of others. Recipients for this award are nominated for their dedication to nursing through active mentoring, role modeling, advocating for their patients and promoting the positive image of nursing. They serve as a beacon of inspiration to those at all stages of their career and in the various and important roles of nursing.”

Ferguson said that before she became a nurse, she was fascinated with what they did for those to whom they provided care. “I looked up to them,” she shared.

“It’s fitting we presented the Lifetime Achievement Award during our Nurses Week celebration, which this year is themed, ‘You Make the Difference.’ Christina made the difference by bringing the DAISY Award program to the military,” LoepkerDuncan added.

Director for Nursing at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Navy Capt. Jessica Beard, agreed, adding nurses are the backbone of care provided here at Walter Reed.

DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The family of J. Patrick Barnes established the DAISY Award program and foundation after his passing from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), an autoimmune disease, at a Seattle hospital in late 1999. They established the award and foundation as a way to thank all nurses in appreciation for those who provided “skillful and compassionate care” during Barnes’ eight-week hospitalization.

LoepkerDuncan said Ferguson’s “perseverance in getting approval for Walter Reed to join the DAISY program knocked down the barriers to bring recognition for the extraordinary compassionate care that our military and civilian nurses provide. She saw the intrinsic and strategic value in providing patient, family and peer feedback to nurses that would remind them why they became nurses, tying them to their purpose.”

In addition, Ferguson’s career as a nurse has served as a “testament to her devotion to nursing and quality patient career,” LoepkerDuncan added. “From her days as a staff LPN at the Grand Island Nebraska VA, through her many years as clinical nurse manager in charge of the Emergency Department at the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and then WRNMMC, to her current position as nurse liaison at the DHA, her support and advocacy for nurses has never wavered.”

“Christina’s influenced meaningful recognition of military and civilian nurses. Her impact has been profound, not only on Walter Reed’s nurses, but now on nurses in 37 military facilities around the world. More than 1,000 military and civilian nurses who provide care to our beneficiaries have received the DAISY Award so far,” LoepkerDuncan stated.

Air Force Col. Dianne Stroble, DHA’s deputy chief nurse, as well as Navy Capt. Felix Bigby, WRNMMC interim director, and Navy Capt. (Dr.) Kelly Elmore, WRNMMC’s chief of staff, were on hand for the ceremony.

In addition to receiving a certificate, Ferguson earned a serpentine stone sculpture, “The Healer’s Touch,” hand-carved by the Shona people in Zimbabwe. The Barnes family felt the sculpture symbolized the relationship between a nurse and his or her patient and referred to it as the Healer’s Touch when they established the DAISY Award program. In addition, the Shona people hold their traditional healers in very high esteem, viewing them as treasures in their community, which gives the Healer’s Touch sculpture even more significance, LoepkerDuncan shared.