The Unexpected Lesson I Learned in a Hospital Exam Room
24 Aug 2025 #miscI’ve been in a hospital with a loved one more times than I wanted.
Waiting in hospital rooms, I’ve written 10-idea lists, imagined the future of hospitals with AI, and learned some lessons about our bodies.
Before a recent exam, my loved one was so nervous that I had to enter the examination room too. The doctor could have dismissed her as just another nervous patient. But he calmed her down by explaining the possible diagnosis in simple words. That really worked.
When my loved one apologized to him, his answer inspired me. “Don’t worry. This is my job and I do it because I really like it,” he said. You could tell by the way he spoke to his patients. Then he said, “I’m passionate about this. And here, between you and me, the hospital owes me money, but I still keep doing it.”
Unlike my loved one’s doctor, I’m reluctant to use the word “passion.” That’s one of the subjects I’ve changed my mind about as a coder. The corporate world drained it out of me.
But, whether the word passion or not, find something worth showing up for every day, even without pay. That’s what he taught me, even though I wasn’t the one he was treating.