Transcript

My philosophy of healthcare was formed initially as a young child when I was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix. I lay in the hospital for 3 days in severe pain before surgery was performed. Despite the antiquated methods and equipment, the kindness of the nurses and the concern of the physicians stimulated an interest in wanting to be a part of healthcare and health science. More than 40 years later, I was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma—a form of cancer seldom found in a person of my health profile. The many months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment provided the opportunities to: 1)Reassess my personal health and the role it plays in recovery, and 2)Provided the privilege of being treated by numerous healthcare workers who I had played an important role in training. They were my students, including a nurse who I had convinced to remain in the nursing program. I recognized that my influence, my expertise, my relationships would shape the outcome of many patients, including myself. My role as a mentor strongly facilitated my own healing.