Kyle Merrell, BSN, RN, CCRN

I work as a Physical Therapist at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute but am frequently in CICU and CVICU. I work with Kyle on a fairly regular basis, and his dedication to his patients is admirable. He's an empathetic individual, making sure that his patient's needs are met and that their family members and friends are kept up to date and cared for as well.

There are many examples of excellence in Kyle's care, but I felt compelled to nominate him after working with three specific patients over the last 3 months in CICU. Kyle has been caring for 3 specific patients requiring ECMO since January 2023, and while we haven't had the outcomes we hoped for with all of them, he has provided incredible care to the patients and their family members. He has utilized his depth of medical knowledge and ICU care to collaborate with the rehab team, respiratory therapists, and the medical team to maximize patient outcomes. Most recently, we sat down after a therapy session that didn't go as well as we had hoped and talked through changes we could ask the physicians to make. We were able to implement 5-6 changes covering ventilator settings, ECMO circuit settings, medications, and an addition by respiratory therapy to allow this patient to participate more fully in PT and OT. He brought up changes with the Attending Physician, and then deliberately put them in place during our next session.

Overall, he's a caring and empathetic caregiver to all of his patients, and his demeanor with other members of the multidisciplinary team is professional, and creative, and exemplifies his knowledge as a critical care nurse.