Teri Bellan has been at the University of Louisville hospital for 6 years, and I have had the privilege of working with her since she was a monitor tech. I have watched her transition from a new grad RN on 7west to the MERIT RN she is today. She has become more confident as a nurse since joining Team MERIT.

During multiple rapid responses, Teri makes sure she speaks to the patient instead of about the patient. She always explains what is happening and does her best to keep the patient calm throughout what could be the worst day of their lives.

One instance that comes to mind is during a rapid on 8East, a patient's BP was 50/30. Teri started a conversation with the patient to keep him awake while I was giving him medications. She started by asking about if he liked sports (he did not), asked the patient if he had a favorite music artist, he said "many", she asked if he had any pets, he said no. Teri kept trying to find common ground with the patient, so at last, Teri landed upon the brilliant idea of showing off her "chicken impression." When she asked if he would like to hear it, he was intrigued and said yes. The patient started laughing after and said, "That's pretty good." She continued to keep the conversation going by telling "dad jokes." The patient laughed and started telling his own while being transported to the ICU. The patient became more relaxed with Teri, so he started telling her jokes as well. The patient was brought to 6West, later was made comfort care, and passed away. Some of his last moments were made better by Teri's empathy and kindness.