.png)
A kind act should be something that makes a positive impact on the recipient and something that they will never forget. I believe being kind is not only showing care and compassion for people, but to truly make that feeling last and benefit someone beyond the simple action. During my sophomore year, I believe I exhibited a lasting kind impact on patients at Sparrow Hospital in East Lansing, MI. Throughout my spring 2018 semester, I volunteered every Friday from 12-3pm in Sparrow’s Inpatient Oncology Unit. While on the floor, I checked in with the nurses and rounded on the patients. During my rounds, I would enter the patient’s room, introduce myself with a smile and ask if they needed anything such as snacks, drinks, pillows and blankets or anything thing else that I could help with as a volunteer. Most of the time, the patients did not want anything and wanted to rest considering that they were either just coming out of surgery or preparing to go to surgery.
Being on the oncology floor was somewhat of a sad experience for me because most of the people there were not doing well and were not in high spirits. Some of the time I felt useless when I couldn’t really do much for the patients; however, with this in mind, I wanted to show extra care and compassion when entering each room and tried my best to make all of the patients feel a little bit better with my presence and concern for their satisfaction and well-being.
One day on the floor, I entered an old man’s room and presented myself with a warm smile and asked if I could get him anything. His face lit up when I walked in; he seemed so happy to see me and was very nice when asking for some ice water. I came back with his water and before I could leave he started to talk to me. He was interested in why I was volunteering, what I’m going to school for and what my future plans were. Later on in the conversation, he mentioned he has a granddaughter in high school; he spoke very highly of his granddaughter and how much he loves her. I then connected that I was a comforting presence to him since I was about his granddaughter’s age and he was missing her. I talked to him for about 15 minutes, then I continued to round on the rest of the patients. This man reminded me a lot of my own grandfather and how much pride he has in me. It made me happy to think that despite his conditions, I made this man’s day a little better by just sitting and keeping him company. In doing this, I know I was also making my grandfather proud with my acts of kindness.
Throughout the semester, I received multiple compliments from other patients and their families about how sweet I was and how courteous my mannerisms were. These compliments made me feel more helpful and satisfied that I was making a positive impact on the patients’ time in the hospital. As a future physician’s assistant, I believe that patient care and satisfaction are the most important aspects of good medical treatment; therefore, I applied that mindset into my volunteer work and brought some light into the lives of each patient I cared for. I hope that after the patients have been discharged, they still have the lasting impression of the kind-hearted volunteer that made their day a little brighter.
