I was doing my daily internet surf of interesting articles when I came upon this article posted on Vanderbilt's website and originally published in Vanderbilt Magazine. As I read the article, I became so inspired and hopeful about the future of healthcare and the future providers that I have had the privilege of learning with. I won't give much of a synopsis on the article as I would encourage you all to read it. My hope is that I, and my future colleagues continue to understand how giving back to the community in service, and learning to love and care for the under-served population is the foundation of our vocation as healthcare providers. Someone once said ( in a more eloquent manner - please help recall the author of this quote) that you can tell a lot about a society by how they treat their weakest. The same goes for us in the healthcare profession. How we care and seek to understand more about the "weak" (i.e. homeless, the poor, the "rejects of society", the mentally unstable etc...) will truly effect how well we love and give care to everyone else. As a Vanderbilt undergraduate and graduate student I've been blessed to be a part of an institution and community that really promotes service to others, and using the abundant resources we've been given to help the less fortunate. Vanderbilt does well with fostering this environment where my peers and I can truly get to the heart of the matter : the patient and their needs. A good friend of mine and fellow soon-to-be Family Nurse Practitioner presents a poignant perspective in the article she was cited in :
“I could sit in a coffee shop all weekend memorizing microbiology and antibiotics, but the act of giving a flu shot to a homeless man under a bridge animates that skill set. Caring for someone at risk for losing his or her foot to infection makes the learning feel urgent,” Morse says. “It reminds me that I am one part of something much larger.”
I also thought Jill Neely brought up the most important point of all ,describing the challenge of merging clinical skills with love :
"Here you can connect with the patients on such a personal level. You have to be able to love them and have the knowledge and somehow learn to merge the two."
What does this mean, and how do we accomplish this? I'm certainly still figuring it out. This morning I was reading Ephesians and the first verse of chapter 5 is what stuck with me throughout today. Perhaps it is because it can be intertwined with what was stated in the Vanderbilt article. Love others as God has loved us. If we act and serve out of love, we are getting closer and closer to what we are made for.
Ephesians 5 : 1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved[a]you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God [b]as a fragrant aroma.
(taken from www.biblegateway.com)
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