Professionalism Essay Contests

As Dr. Travis Hong and I opened the door to a patient’s room in the emergency
department, we were met with a high-pitched scream. The young pediatric patient in the room
had a large animal bite on his face that ran across his cheek and after examining the injury, we
determined that suturing up the wound was necessary. The patient was wrapped tightly in a
blanket and held down by his parents as Dr. Hong carefully injected lidocaine to numb the area.
However, once Dr. Hong brought out the suturing needle, the patient’s screaming intensified and
he began thrashing around under the blanket. The patient’s writhing was so vigorous that it took
us nearly forty-five minutes to complete just a few stitches– Dr. Hong was forced to start over
three times after sudden movements tore the sutures.

Even after the procedure was finished and the incision was neatly closed, the patient
continued to shriek. We threw away our gloves in the trash and thanked the parents of the patient
as we left, the scream still echoing in our ears. As we entered the next patient room, a mother
was waiting with folded arms and a crossed expression.

“Do you know how long we’ve been waiting?” the mother demanded with some
additional expletives. “We’ve been waiting almost two hours, while my daughter is sitting here
just suffering.” She gestured to a young girl in the room with an erythematous rash on her right
thigh.

“I apologize for making you wait, there were some unexpected events that occurred,” Dr.
Hong said calmly. “Could I take a look at the rash–”

“No,” the mom said harshly. “I don’t think you deserve to take a look at her after what
you put us through.”

I turned to Dr. Hong, shocked. I had never observed this kind of reaction from a patient
before. It was obvious that the patient did not understand the chaotic room we had just left from
or the typical wait times for non-urgent emergency department visits. However, I was even more
taken aback by the compassion of Dr. Hong’s response:

“It is completely your right to decide how you would like your daughter to be treated and
I apologize again for the delay that you experienced,” Dr. Hong said calmly. “However, I am a
little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to provide optimal care for your daughter without a
physical exam– are there any alternative options you would be ok with? I know both of us have
the same goal of making sure your daughter is cared for.”

The mother was so caught off guard by Dr. Hong’s response that she initially was
speechless. When she finally regained her composure, she grudgingly agreed to let us examine
her daughter. After evaluating the rash, we were able to discuss treatment options and the
patient’s mother was pleasant for the remainder of the patient encounter.

This experience allowed me to observe the JABSOM Professionalism Philosophy in
action. Despite being exhausted after a grueling procedure, Dr. Hong was able to keep his
composure and effectively deescalate an uncomfortable situation. Dr. Hong’s responsiveness to
the needs of his patient superseded his own self-interest and he was able to skillfully provide
excellent patient care to all of his patients. In addition to upholding his respect to the upset
parent, his compassionate response even ended up resolving the parent’s aggression.

I believe that professionalism could also be described as our “duty of aloha” when we
care for patients– professionalism is our duty to show respect, empathy, and beneficence to our
patients, regardless of the circumstances. Even if we’re tired and even if patients are difficult to
work with, our duty is to provide compassionate care nonetheless.

Throughout my third year rotations, whether it has been fetching warm blankets for
pregnant patients at 3:00am or striving to give all patients the same effort and compassion
regardless of how they treat me, I have tried my best to uphold the highest standards of
professional behavior in the hospital and carry out my “duty of aloha.” I believe that
professionalism is a lifelong journey of improvement and I use my experience with Dr. Hong as
a goal to aspire to. In the future, I hope that as a physician I can conduct myself with integrity
and humility in any situation, and prioritize compassionate patient care above all else.

Professionalism at JABSOM to me means living pono in the healthcare ecosystem from education to training, to working in the hospital and clinics, from referring providers to faculty colleagues, collaborating with health insurance plans and hospital administrators, to communicating with staff and serving patients.

In its purest sense, living pono in the Hawaiian language is living with righteousness and balance; in other words, the art of finding balance between how one treats the land, people, and communities we serve each and every day.

Professionalism is the same Hawaiian philosophy in Western terms, but when applied in the workplace and a school of higher learning such as JABSOM, the faculty and learners must demonstrate a commitment to do right by each other and the patients we serve by treating everyone with compassion, integrity, and respect.

As educators and healers in Hawaii, pono is how we can bring people together from island to island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to share knowledge and invite questions so that we can touch the lives of people who otherwise live in relative isolation--without judgement or making others feel bad about their circumstances.

Professionalism is living with guiding principles and a moral compass in which we always aim to do the “right” thing, even when no one is looking or forcing you to treat a fellow colleague with civility.

Living pono in the hospital setting is showing respect to the people and resources around us so that we give everyone a seat at the table to be seen and heard, and not let our precious healthcare dollars be wasted nor the trust of our patients be squandered for selfish motives.

Professionalism is being courteous and considerate to our fellow human beings whether they be a neighbor island referring practitioner who is asking for a consult or helping hand with a patient, a JABSOM student asking for guidance in applying for a residency program, or a patient who wants to leave the hospital for a few moments to watch her daughter walk across the stage for her high school graduation.

We, as JABSOM faculty, may not always agree with the decisions that others may make, but living pono means that we do right by others and do not put our own personal interests ahead of those around us because no one has the right to dominate another human being.

Behaving professionally is being willing to ask for help and being open to receiving help from those who might think differently from you by keeping an open mind with good intentions, a kind heart, a positive attitude, and a respectful tone of voice.

Living pono in the healthcare ecosystem encourages others to be at their best instead of creating unnecessary chaos that forces our support staff and trainees to clean up our messes which are trickling down to them.

As a JABSOM faculty member we should be modeling professional behaviors which align with the vision and values of our school and community of which we serve, which I already see
embodied by so many JABSOM student applicants as they start on their journey to becoming a physician.

Living pono means that we create a positive healthcare experience for our patients and a nurturing learning environment for our students.

Being professional means not sabotaging or denigrating the work of others for the purpose of elevating yourself, but celebrating everyone’s small wins so that we can all live with ALOHA— Attaining Lasting Optimal Health for All.