Application Thesis

Topic: "A top priority of the University of Chicago Medical Center is to provide flexible and sensitive patient care."

The woman looked relatively normal, maybe a little sad. The rest of the patients on the locked psychiatric unit were far more distressed in appearance. Half the rooms were occupied by geriatrics, wandering the hallways either catatonic or lost to Alzheimer's. The other half was a regular rogues' gallery of psychoses and personality disorders. She just sat quietly, forlornly, perhaps a little sad. We were three hours away from change of shift. I was making my way through the halls asking patients the infamous "8 o'clock question". We had to find a way to ask if the patients have had bowel movements that day without shouting "bowel movement" every two minutes, hence, "8 o'clock question". Most of the patients either responded in kind or silently referred to their nurses. I was more than halfway through the population when I came across the woman, sitting on a chair in the middle of the hall, looking a little sad.
"8 o'clock question?"
"Huh? What? Oh! Umm... yes, I did."
"Great. Thank you." I marked it on my clipboard and moved on.
"Wait!... could I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, let me just finish with the last couple patients. I'll be right back."
"Oh..."
She resumed her position from before I approached her. There were only three more patients left to ask, so once that was done, I dragged a chair across the hall and sat right next to the woman.
"Hi, what's going on?"
She looked at me as if I just asked her to marry me.
"You said you wanted to talk?"
"Oh... Okay."
The woman started to talk. She was deeply, deeply depressed. She had brought herself in for depression a week before, sat through five days of rounds, and was going to be discharged tomorrow morning. She hadn't felt any different. She didn't like the idea of going home. She was afraid of what would happen. She didn't want to go.
"Why didn't you tell anyone earlier?"
"I tried. I asked, but they never came back. I didn't want to bother anybody."
It's my job to be bothered. I sought out her nurse, explained to her what the woman had said. She took notes, went out to talk with the woman. The next day when I came in for my shift I found the woman had been discharged. Transferred, to another unit downstairs. Saw her again two weeks later at a bingo game on the 8th floor. She was bright and lively. She was excited to see me. She put aside the plush rabbit she just won and gave me a big hug.
"I'm so glad I talked to you. I don't know where I'd be without you. You saved my life. You really did."
A couple weeks later another woman was admitted. She was previously diagnosed with bi-polar affective disorder. Her family brought her in. She was ranting and angry. We had to change her into a hospital gown and check in her belongings, but she was far less than cooperative. They assigned her to me. As we walked down to her room, I let her vent. She was scared and frustrated. She had been to the hospital multiple times before and never enjoyed it. She didn't want to be here again. As we got to her room, I allowed her to take her time changing her clothes.
"Y'know, you're the only one here who doesn't make me feel like a freak."
"But, miss, you aren't a freak."
"But you don't know how hard this is. Coming into the hospital. I feel like a damn animal in here."
She spent the rest of the shift with the doctors after that. The next day she was an absolute sweetheart, a model patient, so happy that someone had taken the time to listen to her.

These are small examples, but I believe their roles are mighty. When people come into a hospital for health care, they really have no idea what to expect. They do want their problems and ailments relieved, but they don't want to get caught up in a system that takes away their humanity. A top Health Care Provider must learn to cover this area with broad brushstrokes as well as attention to fine detail. The medical staff, from Administrators to Doctors to Nurses and CNAs, are able to take the incoming patient and, from their file and initial meeting, establish triage, discover conditions, make diagnoses, and set up a plan of treatment. As technology improves and advancements are made, the medical staff can narrow down and perfect their course of action. They must be caught up on the latest of studies and be ready for any kind of anomaly that might appear in their waiting room. But that's only half of health care. While the medical staff is treating the illness, the rest of the hospital staff is here for the people. Those who are worried, frightened, confused, or downright lost, we are here to support and guide. University of Chicago is world-renown for its level of quality and excellence, which means people of all walks of life will walk through our doors, and each of them has a story to tell. It is our job to become attuned to their story and accommodate as best as possible. Content patients make fore more effective health care. It is as simple as that.