Making an impact

Usually if time permits there is Q&A at the end of my Be the Change presentations. I believe allowing the opportunity for questions or thoughts to be communicated before I leave is key to what surrounds Be the Change.

Relationships and partnerships developed in that environment, even if just for a few minutes, are as important as the ones I talk about. Our story, which I share in Be the Change presentations, is about my family's health care experiences and the insights I have gleaned from them. But it’s also about putting a real face, Michael’s face, our family's face, to the importance of relationships and partnerships in health care. The experiences I share with my audience and the experience they have with me is no different. For any change to occur there must be mutual respect, understanding and a shared vision for what is possible, which is supported through a relationship and partnership.

It was exciting to have an opportunity to share Be the Change with a group of nurses and staff from the Minnesota School of Business (MSB) Richfield campus nursing program yesterday. Once again I was reminded of the hope and promise that exists in them and the future of nursing. The energy and commitment of not just the students but the staff as well was evident during my time with them. They were very kind and welcoming when I arrived and throughout the presentation I was certain of the impact our story was having on them by the attentive way they listened and the valuable questions they asked.

None of us can ever be sure of the kind of impact that we are making on others. That’s one of the things I talk about in my presentation. But I trust and believe in that we can be confident of anything that is done with great love and an annointed purpose, will make some kind of impact on those around us. The nurses sitting in front of me will be doing just that, some of them in the very near future. It humbles me to think that our son Michael’s journey in health care with a rare disease has the possibility of impacting these young women and men. The picture of Michael’s face on the PowerPoint screen behind me served as a constant reminder of the importance of providing quality nursing care while supporting the human experience inside the medical one. This is all because of the way a young boy impacted the health care community and the family who loved him, giving all of us a renewed sense of commitment and purpose.

I definitely left the presentation assured of the abilities in this group of nurses from the MSB nursing program. If they care for patients as kindly and compassionately as they cared for me in our short time together yesterday, then we will all be impacted.