During five consecutive night shifts in the ICU, Ms. Nguyen became far more than a clinician to a 62-year-old public servant confronting the stark reality that no further cancer-directed therapies were possible in his case. A three-hour drive from his home and his wife, without children, and painfully aware of the toll his impending decline might take on his recently retired wife, the patient’s most consistent companion emerged as Ms. Nguyen — and she embraced that role with extraordinary grace.

On the second night, mere hours after the oncologist delivered the devastating prognosis, the patient’s fear and isolation were palpable. Ms. Nguyen recognized the emotional crisis immediately, prioritized an unhurried bedside presence, and rearranged her workflow so she could listen, truly listen, to a man wrestling with his mortality and existence. Her timely intervention prevented a spiral into despair and laid the groundwork for a healing conversation.

Ms. Nguyen created a judgment-free space where the patient could openly process regrets, hopes, and deep worries about his wife’s future as much as his own. She asked thoughtful, open-ended questions and validated his feelings without platitudes, demonstrating the intellectual humility to let the patient lead the dialogue. When complex ethical or medical questions arose, she responded with transparent honesty—or sought out the appropriate specialists—always protecting the patient’s trust. In speaking with the Social Worker and the Supportive Medicine Provider assigned to the patient's care, I also noted the remarkable shifts in the patient's immediate concerns and relevant questions with each passing day. No doubt, Ms. Nguyen's therapeutic nighttime talks contributed to the daily evolution in the patient's process.

With each passing night, Ms. Nguyen blended impeccable critical-care skills with therapeutic conversation. She identified concrete areas where the patient could still exert control — documenting personal wishes, drafting letters and messages to loved ones, choosing music for comfort, which served to enhance the patient's own plan for his care. This purposeful linkage of emotional needs with bedside routines exemplified nursing excellence at its highest level.

As the patient became eligible for a transition to an LTACH, Ms. Nguyen meticulously and rigorously reinforced to the patient the progress he had made in his psychosocial evolution as well as his capacity to control his continued recovery with regular turns and in-bed PT. Because of Ms. Nguyen’s steadfast presence, she pushed towards a richer possibility around what continuity of care could offer as she evolved her clinical role from listener to advocate to guide. She turned an ICU room—often a place of anxiety—into a sanctuary of dignity.

Ms. Nguyen’s fusion of clinical mastery, heartfelt listening, and unflinching integrity embodies everything the DAISY Award honors. It is with deepest respect and gratitude that we nominate her for this recognition.