It is an honor to nominate Tyler Blanchard for a DAISY Award. Tyler’s presence in the MSICU is truly infectious, and his impact is palpable. Without hesitation, he goes beyond for patients and families, but what stands out the most to me about Tyler is his ability to connect with all staff members and offer support. He is the definition of a positive and uplifting mentor. I recently had an experience with Tyler that stood out and highlighted his exceptional ability to mentor others while delivering professional and skilled nursing care. When you walk into your shift and see a cracked code cart outside your patient’s room, with additional resource nurses and the fellow at your bed pace, we all have that ‘oh gosh, what am I about to jump into’ moment. As I received a report on a high acuity patient, Tyler was in the room titrating pressors and working with the MSICU team to provide necessary resuscitation. Before leaving his shift, he took the extra time to do a mental check-in with me as I started my day. He gave me a much-needed pep talk and updated me with changes that occurred while I was receiving the report. He could sense I was intimidated by this high acuity situation, empowered me to rise to the occasion, and gave me that extra push to find my voice. I vividly remember him asking me if it would be helpful to walk through all the lines together. I immediately said yes! This simple line reconciliation and independent double-check on all of the code medications, continuous medication drips, and ensuring I knew where my push line was provided me with the extra minute to take a deep breath and gain composure as I started my day. With his friendly demeanor, he said, I’ll see you in twelve hours and went home. Twelve hours later, he returned to his NEST role and, without hesitation, had the ability to survey the room from the hallway and jump in to offer assistance. At this point, I was 11 hours into a nonstop day, and in a comforting and non-judgmental way, I remember him looking at me, saying, “Give me a task; what can I do to help.” As I started to rattle off a list of tasks, he said okay and tackled each task gracefully and efficiently. He helped set up the oncoming nurse for success, ensuring all of my continuous medications had enough volume, restocked our supplies, and drew up additional resuscitation medications. His presence and years of nursing experience are calming in a room full of unpredictability.

As I gave a report to the incoming nurse, I watched him again step in and provide exceptional nursing care. His ability to adapt to evolving situations while collaborating with the interdisciplinary team makes him a standout nurse in the MSICU. I witnessed his gentle but direct way of updating the patient’s family during this critical time, and I was in awe of his compassion and level of nursing expertise. Before leaving that night, he pulled me aside and did one of his famous check-ins. He is known for asking, “How’s this place treating you?” He always puts the emphasis on how we are all coping with and handling this complex environment we work in. Tyler has the ability to do a check-in on our hearts while empowering us to advance professionally. I believe I speak for everyone in the MSICU when saying Tyler is a non-judgmental presence who offers all staff his ear and a safe place to feel heard while empowering us all to do our best for the patients and families.