In my post
A Personal Response to Moral Distress in Health Care (Feb. 7, 2009), I describe events leading to an uninsured, homeless man’s admission to an emergency department.
From there he was admitted into the hospital.
I was off for a couple of days after that event. When I came back to work, I was told that the man called our clinic from his hospital bed “just to check in” and to thank us, “his nurses.”
He will discharge soon, and I will see him again in the clinic. There are no indications that his lifestyle has changed. No miracle has occurred.
But I can’t keep from smiling about his phone call to us and my awareness that a simple human connection was made that day. It makes me feel hopeful. It helps me continue advocating for the voiceless.
I am reminded of an adage I heard some where:
If you want to change the way you feel about someone, change the way you treat them.
JParadisi (Retired) RN Blog 