Abby Walker’s above-and-beyond efforts as a nurse haven’t gone unnoticed by patients and colleagues alike.
Last year, the nursing supervisor at NMC Health in Newton, Kansas, received a DAISY Award, a national recognition program that celebrates and recognizes nurses through nominations from patients, families and co-workers.
“To me, DAISY Awards are tangible reminders of the differences we make every single day,” Walker said. “And I do mean every single day. We are with people on quite possibly the worst day of their lives. It can be heavy.”
Walker has displayed her award in her living room where she can see it every day.
“It means someone thought so highly of what I did, they told others,” she said. “Highest compliment you can receive. We don’t do what we do for the recognition and for me, I don’t do it just because it’s my job. I do it because I genuinely care about the experience someone receives.”
The path to health care
Walker’s roots in health care run deep. When she was young, her paternal grandfather — someone she spent a lot of time with — was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because she was at their house often, Walker helped him put on his socks, Watkins Liniment to his back or fetch his water and medicine.
“Not necessarily the ‘glamorous’ things, but I found that I liked helping people,” she said.
Walker followed the path of helping people to college, where she thought she’d study sonography.
“But I quickly decided it wasn’t hands on enough for me,” she recalled.
Walker shifted paths and pursued Newman’s nursing program instead, eventually earning her nursing degree in 2007. The shift felt natural for Walker, who was raised by women who may not have had nursing degrees but showed her what it meant to be a nurse, as kindness and compassion were things she saw on a daily basis.
“My maternal grandmother was Irish and a Catholic,” Walker explained. “She always made people feel included even if and when society didn’t accept them. My paternal grandmother volunteered for just about anything and everything if it meant she could help others.”
The Newman experience
At Newman, Walker felt like the coursework and testing were geared toward the NCLEX. She and her cohort took tests on computers just like the NCLEX, and a few of the instructors were contributors to some NCLEX prep books as well, solidifying their expertise.
One of Walker’s favorite professors was Cheryl Browning.
“She always had perfectly coiffed hair and dressed impeccably,” Walker said. “I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Why would that stick with you?’ Well, it’s because she also had a quote she’d say pretty regularly: ‘Tis better to look good than to feel good.’”
As Walker progressed in her career, she realized nursing can be taxing, and “you have to almost psych yourself up on the days you don’t feel well or like you don’t have much to give.”
“Having a new scrub set, wild Ted/Support Hose, expressive neon orange shoes, blinged out stethoscope accessories or multicolored pens can help you do that,” she said.
Walker also admired Professor Debbie Strickert, who was “the no nonsense rule follower.”
“She was one tough cookie,” Walker said. “She did our first semester assessment final. I selected nasogastric tube insertion, and I can tell you with 100% certainly, I can still insert one with military precision. She was a stickler for doing it right.”
And then there was Professor Victoria Audley, who was a soft-spoken, kind, gracious professor.
“She was never too busy to stop and explain things,” Walker said. “Full circle moment was when I recognized her when she came in with a family member about two years ago. She’s still the same lady she was nearly 20 years ago.”
Career of reward
As Walker has advanced in her career, she thinks the unusual or atypical parts are her favorite and most rewarding.
“First semester nursing students who have never started an IV getting to start one on me is one of my favorite things to do,” Walker said. “I walk them through it start to finish. I have been poked enough times to know where to stick to allow them to be successful and gain confidence.”
Supporting the staff when she was a nursing leader by working their schedules to allow for a good work-life balance was also a highlight for Walker.
“Having time with family can allow you to decompress so you can come into work refreshed and ready to help others day after day,” she said. “I also think (what’s rewarding) is the little things with patients like washing their hair or getting a fresh cup of ice after not being able to eat.”
One of Walker’s first success stories was a 16-year-old who got T-boned during the holidays and had a traumatic brain injury.
“I’d wash her hair, shave her legs and we’d listen to Sara Bareilles at night while she was intubated and sedated in the ICU,” she shared. “She has exceeded everyone’s expectations and is a successful librarian in the Wichita school district.”
Sharing her knowledge
To aspiring nurses at Newman, Walker acknowledges the program is hard — but for a reason.
“It will prepare you to problem solve and critically think the rest of your career,” she said. “Stick with it. And I always say you found a profession that you like. Now, go find the career you love. Nursing is such a broad job that you can legitimately write your own story.”
One of her favorite quotes is, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.”
“Newman’s nursing program will prepare you to problem solve and critically think the rest of your career. Stick with it.”
Abby Walker ’07
“In nursing, that means wipe the backsides, ‘acquire’ the salt from the cafeteria to give your non-salt restricted patients, offer the good quality tissues, et cetera,” she said. “Be someone your teammates know they can depend on. No one is above the ‘dirty stuff,’ and everyone should be involved in the clean.”
Walker semi-retired at the end of 2025 when she decided it was time for her to find a new way to serve her community. She stayed on PRN at NMC and works a few hours a week in the clinics when they need help. She also makes quilts for the domestic women’s shelter and loves to bake and preserve, so this summer she will have a large garden, and she plans to donate the surplus.
In the end, Walker is still doing what she first learned as a child — showing up, helping where she can and making people feel cared for when they need it most.
Newman’s nursing program
The Newman University nursing program provides a unique educational experience, highlighting challenges students will face in their careers as healthcare professionals, to equip them to transform society.
