Nurse urges patients to show patience

I am writing in response to two previous letters concerning health care professionals.
First, I would like to make the comment that you should not judge until you have walked in someone else’s shoes. I recently graduated from nursing school and already I am seeing the hardships of this demanding profession. Of course I am aware of the harsh attitudes, long waits and difficult situations that patients experience. Health care will never be perfect; it is led by humans and we make mistakes. We get tired and frustrated, too. It saddens me that the public seems to dwell on the negative of health care. The public seems to forget all the good things that doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others do for them.
Please remember that we do things for your safety, not to make you wait or to be difficult. Next time you get a health care professional who seems to be having a bad day, why not say thank you or just offer a simple smile? I know when I am having a bad shift, all it take is one patient to tell me “Thank you for everything you have done for me. I really appreciate it,” and everything I do is worth that simple thank you. Try to look at the positive. Good things do not happen with negatives.

Heather McIlvaine
Abingdon, Va.