The whole week, it was full of tears because of all the stories heard and the movies seen. It was a feeling that I work in healthcare and just the disbelief that such things do happen. Tears also because of the things that you see in the hospital that I work on that I have seen and heard and looking back I did not do anything about it. I have hidden in that wall of silence, and I do feel ashamed of that. I have put labels on patients and neglected the fact that they are human. I have not spoken up and just walked away. I have not given a listening ear because there was too much work and tasks on hand. I was too focused on making sure the work is done but neglected the fact to pause and reflect on the day. I forgot to pause and think if I even sincerely talked to my patient. The tears I cried also gave me a sign of hope that I will be bringing to work that I know I will make a difference. This experience made me think of all the interventions that I will implement in my care to make sure to look behind the room number and see them as a person. More importantly, I will carry this experience and create a voice that will hopefully be heard by my coworkers to start treating patients with compassion and create a culture of honest and transparent communication towards each other and towards our patients. I will use that voice to create a just culture and to make sure they know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness and to integrate teamwork makes the dream work, working towards the mission of patient and quality care and to remember to always put our patients first. This experience made me realize there is hope as long as we stand up and be the voice of change. The conference may have ended already, and it really makes me sad, but it is a start something new as we walk back into the doors of our healthcare system.
