TAMIU’s Dr. Saldivar Named Recipient of 2020 DAISY AWARD

The COVID-19 Pandemic continues to underscore the importance of well-educated and trained frontline healthcare workers.  At Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), a faculty member helping lead the charge to empower nurses is this year’s  recipient of the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Faculty Award.

The 2020 DAISY Award recipient is Dr. Rose Saldivar, clinical assistant professor and  coordinator of the Dr. F. M. Canseco School of Nursing’s Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program.

TAMIU College of Nursing and Health Sciences dean Dr. Marivic Torregosa said this year’s DAISY Award recipient  is simply an inspiration to her students.

“Dr. Saldivar holds students to the highest standards. She’s a very supportive, inspirational faculty member who is not only concerned about the academic well-being of students, but also the personal challenges students may face while in Nursing School. These can have the potential  to impact student retention and success. Of Dr. Saldivar, one of our Nursing alumni wrote:

‘Throughout Nursing School, I was juggling with having to care for my infant, a job, and attend Nursing School. Dr. Saldivar continued to encourage me and assured me I was making the right choice in completing my education. I graduated with a BSN degree in May 2012, and now I am in my second semester of the FNP program at my alma mater, TAMIU. It is because of great educators such as her that we students strive and believe we can do more than just the cards we were dealt in life. I was a scared young Mexican American unwed mother who refused to become another statistic and was lucky enough to have a professor like her who showed genuine care about my success.’    It is this total commitment to inspire and motivate our students to realize the success that each can achieve that makes Dr. Saldivar a worthy recipient of the Daisy Award,”  Dr. Torregosa observed. 

Saldivar joined the TAMIU College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ Dr. F. M. Canseco School of Nursing in 2000. She is both a certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She teaches in both the graduate and undergraduate nursing programs. She has coordinated the continued participation of FNP students in multiple City and TAMIU COVID- 19 vaccination drives.    

Her Doctor of Nursing Practice was earned at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.  Her Master of Science in Nursing was completed at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and her BS in Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She holds additional certification from the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio. Her research interests include community, family and psychiatric health. 

The Award, presented at the  College of Nursing Hooding and Pinning Reception,  included a DAISY pin, certificate, and a Healer Touch sculpture. The sculpture stone, crafted by a Shona healer from Zimbabwe, depicts the relationship between nurses and their patients, as well as that between DAISY faculty and their students. 

Established in 1999, the DAISY Faculty Award was created in memory of J. Patrick Barnes who died from complications of an auto-immune disease. Inspired by the compassion and clinical skills of the nurses who cared for Barnes, his family decided to create the Award to recognize exceptional nurses. 

The DAISY Foundation works to provide colleges and schools of nursing a national recognition program that demonstrates appreciation to faculty and their commitment to nursing students. The Foundation works to foster a positive work environment.

Recipients of the DAISY Faculty Award possess qualities outlined by the Foundation, including holding interest and respect for learners; demonstrating an enthusiasm for teaching, nursing, and learning; using personal attributes to encourage professional growth; having excellent interpersonal skills; remaining fair and unbiased, and developing collaborative working relationships.

For more information on the DAISY Faculty Award or TAMIU undergraduate or graduate nursing programs, please contact the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at 956.326.2450, visit offices in the Dr. F. M. Canseco Hall, room 304, or click on www.tamiu.edu/conhs. 

Summer and Fall Registration is now underway.  TAMIU’s Fall 2021 plans are focused on a return to a vibrant, on-campus experience for all students, faculty and staff.