Transcript

I would like to start off with a poem that I wrote based on my philosophy of healthcare entitled “He was my Patient.” He was rude, unkind and unbearable He was my patient Greedy, far from joyful, always complaining He was my patient He yelled, screamed and was insulting He was my patient He refused to eat some days and then complained he did not eat enough other days He was my patient I dreaded having to care for him; he was difficult to say the least However He was my patient In the nursing home for which I worked He was quite frankly one of the most difficult patients One day I heard a cry The man who was rude and unkind Was crying As I passed I stopped and softly knocked I asked Is there anything I can do for you Mr. Kalumn He replied, “My family doesn’t want to see me. In my death I will have to accept the fact, I wasn’t there. But Sherri, I can’t seem to face it.” The always far from joyful Always complaining man Knew my name I listened to his story I forgot that this man’s family never visited Through my busy schedule I forgot he was alone The man who yelled The man who screamed Told me he was afraid to die alone And he knew his time was near He was my patient Sad, regretful and fearful He was my patient He was difficult because of his fear He screamed because of his regrets He was rude because he felt unloved He was my patient With feelings just like my own I made sure to acknowledge him everyday to let him know he was not alone I knew his family would never come But I gave him hope one day they would I wanted him to know that he was not alone He was my patient My patient My philosophy is as a healthcare provider, some days will be better than others. But the healthcare provider should always remember that our patients may be pleasant, they may be difficult, but they are still our patients. And we should treat them with respect and always listen.