One day in 2004, Nurse Pat Murphy watched as I struggled to insert a large catheter into the neck of a woman who was dying. I jabbed and jabbed as the patient moaned under the sterile sheet. Medical training had taught me how to thread catheters into veins, insert tubes into lungs, and pump air into chests with a ventilator. But it was Pat, and later a chaplain, who taught me how to really care for another human being.
I had never offered my elderly patient the option of focusing on comfort, of giving her back the precious time that remained. But when Pat raised a pretend phone to her ear and barked “They’re torturing a patient in the ICU,” something snapped. From that day on, I would no longer be a technician on the end-of-life conveyor belt. I would help my patient make the best decisions for her.
Good decision-making doesn’t necessarily come with warmth. My training kept me clinical and distant. Enter Betty Clark, the 80-year-old chaplain on the Palliative Care team. Betty taught me to see the sacred in each person. I’ll not forget the day she put a hand on my shoulder to interrupt my flight as she began to pray with a patient. Until then, I hadn’t thought praying was in my job description. But her hand helped me to enter a holy space that I had never witnessed in a hospital. Chaplain Betty was as skilled as any doctor—a surgeon of the soul.
Pat and Betty taught me more about providing care than I learned in all of my medical training. It’s time to rethink how we train doctors. We must shatter the damaging hierarchy that keeps healthcare professionals from being the best that we can be.
Dr. Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH specializes in Critical Care and Palliative Care medicine. She is the founder of Reel Medicine Media and director of the forthcoming film “The Chaplain of Oakland.” reelmedicinemedia.org
For Every Jewel There is a Question:
What surprise twist taught you something unforgettable?
One Response
A recent and beautiful surprise reminds me to always watch for that surprise. They may sneak up on you, but it’s important to be receptive and welcoming–otherwise you may miss our on another life joy.