The Sun On My Face

I've always made it my policy that if I see good clinical practice I let the person involved know what I think.
Last night I watched a young doctor deal with several complicated scenarios. These included a cardiac arrest, the admission of a desperately ill young man and several other knotty medical issues.
She competed her tasks with a cool and precise professionalism and in a brief lull in the proceedings I told her exactly what I thought of her.
I think she was surprised but pleased with the feedback.
It was a hard shift all told which she summed up beautifully to the tired group of nurses just before dawn
" I will be so grateful to feel the sun on my face in the morning" she said with feeling

37 comments:

  1. I would imagine, as in so many lines of work, people rarely receive unsolicited positive feedback. At the end, a very powerful sentiment expressed in such a simple statement.

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  2. Some people are brilliant at doling out criticism but more bashful when it comes to giving praise where praise is due. Even though I am sure this young woman is a very promising doctor with lots of important and hard won qualifications I bet you made her day.

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    1. I heartily agree. Several years ago an emergency room doctor was the only one who correctly and swiftly diagnosed that my daughter had a pulmonary embolism (caused by her birth control pill.) I was so grateful to him and thought he should know it, so I wrote a letter of thanks to him. Several months later I had occasion to be walking in the hospital hallway and saw the letter posted on a bulletin board. You're right. The critics are quick to complain when something goes wrong, but when things go right, everyone just shrugs it off.

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    2. Thanks for sharing that tale.

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    3. Yorkshireman beat me to it

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  3. Feedback good or bad is necessary. Good on you for telling her she did a good job. If more people did this, the work place would be a lot better. And more harmonious for people being told they are doing well. Makes them feel valued.

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  4. Sounds like you all had a tough night. A few words of thanks or praise can make such a difference to someone, no matter who it is.

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  5. Praise is important to give when it is earned, and I'm sure she appreciated it, especially given the circumstances. As for feeling the sun, I hope her patients too will have that opportunity.

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  6. There are times when there is no actual sun to shine on a person's face, but praise coming unexpectedly can be just as welcome and warming.

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  7. After a night of complications the simple warmth of the sun on your face must be welcome indeed. Back to life.

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  8. During and after my emergency room experiences in late February, I was generous with my praise for all parties who came to my rescue. It was an eye opener to see all that the emergency department's team dealt with during the hours I spent in their area of the hospital. xo

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  9. If I had to name what I think is the most important gift a person can have , it would be empathy. You Mr. Gray have it!

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    1. Thank you jan but i suspect i am just long in the tooth

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  10. A good word can mean so much to a person who is doing their job well.

    I just received an e-mail back from a manager at a hotel that I spent a night at this weekend. They had asked me to fill out a survey which I immediately did and sent it back. Within an hour, I received a reply thanking me and saying that she shared it with the staff and it meant so much to them to know that they were doing their job well and were appreciated. I am so glad I took the time.

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    1. I always give onlinefeedback for the dog groomers...mind you if they dont get their quota of nice comments they get told off....

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  11. You're a lovely man Mr Gray.
    Such a nice thing to do and I am sure you made her day.

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  12. What a perfect comment.

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  13. As I get older I find I'm much swifter to complain about poor service - but I'm also much better at saying thank you when it's due. A word of praise or even just acknowledgement that someone has done their job well can make all the difference between a bad day and a good one. Good for you, John. We all need feedback - I hope you get yours from these comments.

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  14. Anonymous4:47 pm

    As usual, you've reminded us how little things, which aren't little at all, can make the world a better place. Thank you.

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  15. I too have found as I get older that I think it is important to give praise when it's due. We are self emlpoyed caterers and also find that a thank you e-mail often makes our work worthwhile. I don't like complaining unless pushed but always give praise where I feel it's due. I am sure you will have made her day/night.

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  16. Praise and gratitude for competence are always worth while. I had to have blood drawn recently and the young woman did it so well I honestly hadn't known she'd started. I thanked her effusively and I think it almost startled her!

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    1. So many people never have ANY praise! So sad

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  17. When I was training dogs, I learned that dogs respond best if one says "Good boy" ten times as often as "Bad dog." Why do we not learn that about people? Thank you, John.

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  18. Is there anything more wonderful, than feeling the morning air on your face? (I left for work before sunrise again this morning.) Not everyone who wanted to had the pleasure of getting up and going back to work this Monday morning.

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  19. I'm a great believer in giving credit where credit is due...I spent a large chunk of my working life training people and when they are praised their confidence soars and they fly. Arilx

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  20. Throughout my father's post-stroke life I had many occasions to observe good and bad care. I always tried to acknowledge the good care specifically to the person in private. I don't think you can ever go wrong telling someone they've done a good job when they've done so. I felt so grateful for those people in my father's life and I wanted them to know, and when else does a person get a chance to say so, if not right then?

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  21. A couple of years ago, a (bald) friend of mine said to me one morning, "It's good to feel the sun on my head again" - it was about this time of year. Later that afternoon, he dropped dead with a heart attack. Ooo-err...

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  22. I have been visiting the opthalmology dept at my local hospital and at my last appointment was seen by a doctor who was excellent,something which I expressed to her. She too seemed surprised but genuinely delighted that I had acknowledged her skill, care and that she had dealt with things which had been ignored by other doctors at two previous appointments.

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  23. One of my old saws, or axioms, is, 'what goes without saying, needs to be said'.

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  24. From the sounds of it there will be people who receive the gift of sun on their faces because of the work done overnight. Thank you all.

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  25. I would enjoy working with you and your team . . .
    That is how we treat one another . . .
    Empathy, regard, kindness . . . is like sunshine on the face . . .

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  26. Well done John x

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