DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award—Sharon Beard, B.S.N., R.N.
Sharon Beard, B.S.N., R.N.
Davis 5 Neonatal Units/NICU/SCN
As this celebration was being planned, there were so many stories and anecdotes shared regarding Sharon’s long and storied career. In listening to all of them, there was one word that consistently rose to the surface. That word was advocate. Sharon has truly spent her entire nursing career advocating. During her career, she completed a stint in both the military and in management and advocated for her staff with the same passion she brings to the bedside. Here in the UC Davis NICU, Sharon has been an amazing advocate. As a bedside clinician, Sharon advocates for both the patients and their families in her care. As a primary preceptor, Sharon advocates for the staff assigned to her, ensuring they receive the most enriching experience possible. She has consistently oriented and mentored new staff. So many nurses count Sharon as their guiding light, the beacon that they followed while assimilating into a fast paced, high acuity environment. Not only is she a clinical expert, but staff consistently talk about her compassionate and caring attitude. The tender interactions with families and the gentle touch she models while caring for the most fragile patients. She used her position as an informal leader to assist the management team in advancing programmatic change. Helping to strengthen and grow the NICU. Working in an academic teaching center can be a challenge. Sharon has consistently offered her clinical experience to training physicians and ancillary personnel, communicating, and questioning in a compassionate manner. Sharon has also taken on projects that are daunting. She champions both the point of Care Program and the On-Unit CPR programs for a staff of over 200. Her impending retirement has been a source of anxiety for so many staff, who will miss her quiet compassion, her presence at their side in times of crisis and the knowledge and leadership she provided each and every shift. Most importantly, they will miss her continued advocacy and professional encouragement
I would like to submit my nomination for a Daisy Award to my coworker, Sharon Beard, RNC-NIC. I can’t think of a better, more deserving person than Sharon Beard to receive such an honor. Sharon’s exemplary service and dedication to her career, patients, and community align with the values of the Daisy Foundation. Sharon is a role model, she is extraordinary skillful, and her compassionate care she provides to patients and families is unmatched.
Throughout her 20-year career here at UC Davis Health (30+ years total as a nurse), Sharon has provided excellent and compassionate care to every patient and their family members she encounters. Sharon focuses on family centered care and always includes the patient’s family in the decision-making process and care of her patients. She is relied on to take care of the sickest patients we have and can handle anything you give her with such grace and humility.
Sharon has always been a resource for nurses of every skill/experience level due to her incredible expertise and extensive knowledge. Sharon has precepted countless new hires and new graduates helping mold generations of new, strong, competent nurses. She takes on multiple roles and responsibilities throughout the year in our unit including relief charge nurse, primary care nurse, fit testing, point of care testing and check offs, precepting new hires and new grads, etc. just to name a few. Sharon also has helped write new guidelines and policies & procedures to implement evidence-based practice to help improve patient outcomes.
Sharon has done all these wonderful things throughout her nursing career while flying under the radar and without looking for any praise or recognition. She always thanks her coworkers and peers for their support all while we thank and recognize her as the expert in every situation. Sharon doesn’t like to accept praise for how valuable she is to our patients, our nurses, and to the rest of our staff.
I would also like to mention that Sharon honorably served as a nurse for 11 years as an Army Captain from 1991-2002. She was on active duty during the Desert Storm/Desert Shield and Iraq War campaigns.
Sharon Beard is the epitome of what the Daisy Award stands for. She immolates extraordinary compassion for any baby in her care. She goes above and beyond to make sure that the patient and their family members needs are met at all times. In every patient situation it is evident that Sharon gives all that she has at each patient interaction.
Sharon offers her time and knowledge as the point of care champion for our unit, a consistent preceptor to new staff, and an invaluable resource to her peer nurses. If Sharon does not know the answer, she will find you the answer. She is the person that everyone goes to to ask a question, to which Sharon will gladly share her knowledge.
I have been one of the luckiest nurses on the unit because I got the opportunity to have Sharon orient me to Davis 5 when I transferred to the unit. She was extremely helpful, taught effortlessly, which is understandably why she is a consistent preceptor to new staff. To this day I will never forget the things that she has taught me and the values she has laid out for me.
Sharon has devoted her life to the nursing field. She has excelled through the many changes in policies and procedures and the growth of technology. Although there have been many changes throughout the years, one constant remains; Sharon's care and compassion, and devotion to her patients, peers and her professional nursing practice.
There is not one particular clinical patient situation involving Sharon Beard that exemplifies what The DAISY Award represents. Sharon delivers superior compassionate care to every single one of her patients and patient's family. She attunes to the need of patients, parents, and staff. Sharon is my personal go to person for many of my questions. I can speak for our whole staff when I say Sharon Beard is an invaluable person to this team. She gives all of herself to ensuring the success of the NICU through superior patient and family centered care, development of new hires/new grads/students, and the support she provides to each and every one of us is spectacular. With all that said, I highly encourage and thank you for considering Sharon Beard for The DAISY Award. She is truly one of a kind and delivers the compassionate care to everyone around her.