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I want my patients to believe I consider Peabody’s advice before I see them, that I recognize our shared humanity...
The art of good care is caring for the patient.
-Francis Peabody, MD
I want my patients to believe I consider
Peabody’s advice before I see them,
that I recognize our shared humanity,
suffering’s shame, my power to humiliate
or heal. I want them to believe I care
with the same love and devotion I feel
for my wife and daughter. But there are
moments I ignore the old wisdom,
like when I am on call at dawn and all
I want is sleep. That is when I feel
Francis Peabody grab my lab coat collar
and shake me hard, until I remember the art
I sometimes care to forget.