The Unseen Rounds: Perspectives from a Patient Care Assistant

As a first-time healthcare worker, aspiring to venture into medicine, I was struck by how close we get to crucial moments in patient’s lives. We help feed, change, turn, and heal patients, spending twelve hours entering and leaving intimate moments of their lives. And yet, we barely know them. We barely know you, as perhaps your friend would. One shift, I have the privilege of being your confidante, friend, and caregiver, but when I leave the hospital, I wonder whether you’ll be alright or if I’ll get the chance to see you again. Amidst the chaos and calm of the hospital, here are the reflections of humanity that I couldn’t type in the charts, and at times couldn’t quite put into words at all initially, but which I think are important to share to remind myself and readers of the privilege it is to be any type of healthcare worker.