Nurse Practitioner

So much bad stuff is (justifiably) said about the healthcare system, and how it is becoming distant, frustrating, impersonal, and dehumanized.  That is certainly true in many settings, as we value data, documentation, diagnosis codes, and checklists over the humans for which it\’s supposedly built.  My office is a sanctuary for me, my staff, and my patients from that impersonal world.  But the time I spent in the ICU encouraged me greatly, as I saw that people there, in the middle of one of the most stressful settings in my profession, are still caring.  They are caring about the work they do, caring about their patients, caring about the families, and caring about doing what is right.  In the midst of the hectic world of the ICU, they took the time to talk to me even though I was not at all involved in the patient\’s care.