A Letter for Healthcare Providers

Stories, I believe, are the most powerful way to connect with another person. 

As patients’ lives and stories are brought to where you work, you have an opportunity to connect in a way that will bring lasting impact to their lives. You become the face of your organization when you enter into their lives—What are you going to write into their story? 

Your time and presence during difficult circumstances in patients’ lives has the power to leave a permanent impact. Knowing this, you can realize the significance of each conversation you have going forward, even if it just lasts for a minute.

A Team Opportunity

Your organization’s collective team is like a body: it has hands, feet, a head, and many faces. Each part has a role in bringing the heart of who you are into that patient’s story. From the first click of a mouse opening the referral email, to the door opening into their home or hospital room, to the final discharge sign off, we–healthcare providers–are given the privilege to bring our presence and our love into each patient’s story. There is an opportunity to have an impact every time you step into a patient’s hospital room or pick up the phone to call them.

I believe there is a reason you are the one connecting with them. It is not a coincidence. You are there, with them, for a good reason. Choose to serve through compassion and love, and you will bring patients what they need in their encounters with you during their journey. 

Lead with love, listen well, don’t be afraid of vulnerability, and look for your opportunity to connect and bring good to your patients today. Consider where parts of your own story might bring connection and relatability with them. 

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Questions for Consideration:

• What is your individual role in their story?
• How can you best communicate their story and what holds value for them to the other clinicians and staff on the team serving them?
• What are some internal barriers that you face when connecting with your patients in the moments you have with them?

Put in Practice

• As a healthcare provider, ask, “what does my patient need the most, right now?” 
• Moving forward, how can you be attentive to your presence in patients’ stories and connect most deeply with them?
• Look for an opportunity in your interaction to truly encourage and build them up–words matter!

I would encourage you to follow this path to serve well… →Listen. Ask. Listen. Act.

“True service is often an unselfish act that goes beyond a job or obligation, focusing on genuinely improving another person’s life, often requiring personal sacrifice.”

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Alex Gerber, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Charleston, SC

gerberxc@gmail.com