I was very moved and touched by "Am I Going to Be Okay?" by Danielle Allen, RN (Reflections, March).

The whole time I was reading it, my mind was zooming through all of the things I wanted the nurse to say to her patient[horizontal ellipsis] and then she said them! More importantly, she did them. She gave the most important gift she could-she stayed with the patient.

This article should be required reading for all nurses. It is beautifully written (I was engaged and couldn't wait to hear how the story ended), it is concise (but skillfully conveys the nurse's rapid thought processes), and it is educational (demonstrating for others how the nurse's critical thinking in a difficult moment benefits both the patient and the nurse).

Congratulations to Allen on such a masterful piece of work. I plan to share it widely.

Connie Barden, MSN, RN, CCRN-E, CCNS

Aliso Viejo, CA

Editor's note: Barden is a member of AJN's editorial board.