“This Nurse is an amazing RN. She always goes above and beyond for the patients she is assigned, but also for everyone else on the unit! Most recently, she stayed late to help get a patient situated who transferred from another unit at shift change. She gave the patient two baths, changed her linens, and made sure she was comfortable.” 

It was this nomination from one of Morgan Neal’s previous assistant nurse managers that helped her clinch the prestigious 2022 DAISY Award (given based on a nomination by a patient, patient family member, or co-worker who experiences or observes extraordinary compassionate care being provided by a nurse). The ironic part, though, is that Morgan never knew she won the accolade until February of 2025. 

Morgan is now a Registered Nurse on the Ambulatory Otolaryngology (or Ear, Nose, and Throat – ENT) Unit at Cleveland Clinic at Main Campus, beginning this role in January 2024. She first joined Cleveland Clinic as a Patient Care Nurse Assistant (PCNA) in 2019 after completing her Nurse Associate Externship the summer before her senior year at Ohio University.  

Once she graduated and passed her boards, she worked on unit G81 (ENT stepdown), for nearly 2-½ years before grabbing her suitcase (and her husband!) and heading out to experience life as a travel nurse. Traveling to North Carolina, Arizona and Columbus, she worked in medical and cardiac stepdown units for 1-½ years, until she realized her heart and future were with Cleveland Clinic and she needed to get back. “After going to all these different locations and hospitals – even though they were known as good hospitals – I still felt that nothing compares to the support and high expectations we’re held to when working here. I knew I would want to come back to the Clinic when I was done with travel nursing,” Morgan says. 

Back and Better Than Ever 

Since her return, Morgan has been thriving in the ENT ambulatory setting (specifically laryngology and occasionally, facial plastics), working one-on-one with the attending doctor during awake outpatient procedures. Her duties include rooming patients, drawing up medications, pulling drains, taking off splints, etc., along with caring for patients who are experiencing airway issues such as subglottic stenosis (a narrowing of the airway). In that scenario, Morgan will assist the ENT, skillfully guide a needle through the scope that the doctor has inserted and pushing Kenalog (a steroid) into the patient’s airway, while the ENT targets different spots within the same airway. 

The unit provides various treatments, including injecting superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) blocks to alleviate chronic coughs, administering Botox to cervical muscles and the larynx to treat spasmodic dysphonia (tremor in the voice), performing vocal cord injections with fillers such as Restylane (for a hoarse voice), and conducting laser procedures to target laryngeal papillomas.  

Acknowledged and Inspired 

Morgan takes pride in her work and feels recognized for her contributions. “The doctors I work with are so supportive and appreciative of their nurses. They make me feel like I’m an important key player in the team care. I didn’t know about a lot of these outpatient procedures until I started this job, and I was shocked at all the things the nurse could do, along with the doctor.” 

Another highlight of working in an outpatient department is the opportunity to form relationships with the patients, many of whom continue to return every few months for different airway issues or Botox injections. “It’s nice being able to see people time and time again instead of having a patient for just 12 hours and then never seeing them again. 

Dedication that Led to a DAISY 

Morgan continues to show the same dedication and compassion in every unit she works in. So, it’s no surprise she was a Daisy Award recipient nearly three years ago. The surprise was how she found out. “I saw my name on a plaque in the main lobby,” says Morgan. “I found my manager and said, ‘Hey! My name is on this DAISY honoree plaque. Did I win a DAISY Award?’” After looking into it, her manager confirmed that yes, in fact, she did win, one month before she left to become a travel nurse.  

Why Cleveland Clinic Stands Out 

Morgan sums up her last few years by saying, “I always had heard great things about Cleveland Clinic and knew I wanted to move to Cleveland after college. This is a great place to work if you are in healthcare. It’s a great place to be a nurse. Seeing how supportive the staff and management can be at a huge institution like this is very encouraging. We have the resources that we need to provide the highest care possible.”