It Does Not Matter About The Title, It Matters About The Walk.

Why did you decide to work in healthcare? Was it for Earning an income, job growth, or touching lives? Maybe all the above? According to about.com, these are the top 3 reasons why people decide to get into healthcare. But here’s the issue that we face. Once they have reached a sense of entitlement, many healthcare professionals lose their connection to why they chose to work in healthcare versus something else. Fellow Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), and healthcare professionals, I am here to share with you today how you make an impact on people’s lives every day by seeing them as humans and not as objects.

If you are alive and breathing right now, I want you to raise your right hand, place it over your heart and close your eyes for five seconds. Feel and listen to the rhythm of your heartbeat “lub, dub” “lub, dub” “lub, dub” this is the most valuable organ in the human body. It is important to know that your heart is the sustaining factor of giving life with every pump of blood. It knows 3 things: Purpose, Presence, and Passion. The next time you are looking at someone (family member, loved one, or a patient) notice how they move their head, their eyes, and their body towards you. Besides, the color of their hair, the shape of their nose, or the beautiful smile they pose, you all have something uniquely in common, you are gifted with life.

So let us talk about how you make an impact on people’s lives, starting with purpose. Do you all remember who was the first woman to establish modern nursing? Florence Nightingale, (who was often remembered as the “lady with the lamp”) would go and check on wounded soldiers in the hospital during the Crimean War at night as she was rounding. She knew her purpose (according to Florence Nightingale Museum) was to help the poor as her growing belief that Nursing was her God-given vocation.

She respectfully talked to other Nurses or C.N.A. She knew that she was there to help the wounded soldiers and It was critical to work as a team to be able to effectively see the improvements in the patients. It did not matter to her about her title of being a “Nurse”, she cared about the lives of others by looking into their hearts.

Making an impact on people’s lives goes along with being present. One way the heart works really well with the rest of the body systems is by being interconnected. Its presence is vital and so are you. Every moment you decide to care for a patient, you are giving life to that person by your heart being present and connecting with their heart. Every moment you decide not to be engaged the team (co-workers) lose morale to succeed. It does not matter about your title or what you “stand for” by talking about it, it matters about how you show up and be an example of those things.

Go beyond what is asked of you! Everyone one of you has the capacity of making a difference and impacting lives. Many Healthcare workers are passionate about what they do and they often are not only representing themselves, they are representing a higher entity. Take pride in the service you bring, the smile you give, and the generosity that radiates from you. Whether it be for all humanity or for a higher power, treat others as you want to be treated. This is what Florence Nightingale was about To establishing modern nursing not for her own desires, but for many that have the same vision and values. To learn about the challenges of caring for the sick and dying and come up with a purposeful, presentable, and passionate connection between human beings.

In the end, there is nothing more uplifting than to get a patient that says “Thank you for helping me.” Or for a family member to say, “Thank you for not only taking care of my mom but for also being there for my family through this difficult transition.” You all have the power of touching lives spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and literally by placing your hand on your heart and seeing that the same heart that beats inside of you, beats inside of others. I call you to next time you are helping someone, look at them in their eyes with purpose, presence, and passion by simply saying “I see you.”

“A cup that is already full cannot have more added to it. In order to receive the further good to which we are entitled, we must give of that which we have.”

– Margaret Becker

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