By Nick Jacobs
As I reflect on the sacred role that has been bestowed upon us as healthcare providers, I recognize the depth of trust, commitment and sharing that we are privy to in our jobs, and I breathe deeply, close my eyes and allow those thoughts to wash over me like a healing light.
The experience is so profound and so moving that many people never fully grasp the significance of the every day miracles that are so much an ingredient of our work lives.
We are there when new life arrives.
We are there when life passes.
We are there for all aspects and challenges of life as the deck is dealt on a daily basis to our patients and their families.
Each of these experiences provide connections at a spiritual level that can only be imagined by a non healthcare worker.
When I see the play unfold as it should with the appropriate light cues, the correct lines, apt expressions of emotion, and displays of kindness, it truly can be a beautiful thing.
When we, as caregivers, understand it at every level, and break from our normal gate to move in lockstep with the grieving family or the petrified parents, it is a cadence that can only be appreciated by them as we carry out our journey through this sometimes lonely world.
And when we move toward the hurting spouse or the sobbing family member and share in their pain, hurt, grief, or sorrow, that is when it begins to feel so absolutely correct.
Just knowing that we were invited to share those moments with perfect strangers is an amazing gift. In fact, it can be just what the doctor ordered for both patient and caregiver.
Healthcare is not perfect. Our lives are usually hectic, stressful and disconcerting. Our world is complex and it can drain us deeply each and every day, BUT it is a world of reality, a world of caring, a world of deep emotional attachment that is almost impossible to create in a non-hospital environment.
Comments:
What a passionate post!
I think with this post you have begun to redefine the role of the hoppistal in the GeoStrategy of Health. It is just that, a place of care that is unique, when a person needs care unique to the hospital.
The opportunity indeed is for all of us---doctor, administrator, clinician, technician, volunteer, family and patient to learn how to give the best care (not perfect) to someone in need in an environment of "strangers."
I recently wathed a program about St. Judes Hospital and I believe that is what they do. I think the environment is so filled with care and love and intimacy that mistakes are simply easy to corrent and when someone dies, the intimacy and love that pours out in support is remarkable. Every dying patient and familiy experiences the meaning they contribute to through translation research that can make a difference to the next child.
Thanks for your blog. I don't know if I ever properly introduced myself here. I am the former HMO health care program and clinical manager and systems and financial analyst that saw 3 people in my family to death and cared for myself primarily through a major illness.
It was truly the experience of "healer, heal thyself." However, what I found out is that the real healing can only come if we create a village of people who join to do that and fulfill the mission of this blog, along with introducing a number of initiatives that innovate the way we think of health and how we (the patient, the clinician and the caregiver) join to heal.
It's given me eyes through which I like to lead with possibilitly and team with others for innovation rather than spend time in skepticism or criticism.
Thanks for your blog.
A hospital CEO...
A recovering "health care professional" / advocate & caregiver
and a Caring Nurse
If we could only inject this authenticity into the payor system and more....now this is a group I would enjoy connecting with at YOGA or Meditation....
Anyone else care to join us?
what a nice way to begin my weekend.
"This hospital, like every other, is a hole in the universe through which holiness issues in blasts. It blows both ways, in and out of time."
I think her observation gives us a new way to look at the places in which we work. As Nick said, we do all have a "sacred role."