Lessons learned from dirty diapers.

This essay by Amy Gaudet is the winning entry in the annual Humanism in Medicine Essay Contest at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. Amy is a second year student and writes about everyday humanism in the context of everyday problems involving two patients and their families--one she had never met and a second much closer to home. The essay contest was initiated in the spring of 2001 by the students in the School of Medicine to inspire fellow students to embrace the humanism displayed around them and to incorporate the humanistic spirit into their daily lives. The top five finalists are recognized at our White Coat Ceremony in July every year. The winning author receives a prize and presents his or her essay at the ceremony, as the keynote speaker. What is humanism? Simply, as described by our students, it is a concern with the needs, well-being, and interests of people. In our profession, humanism can take on many shapes, among them--displaying compassion, empathy, and utmost respect in the delivery of healthcare, serving as a role model by displaying professional behavior and ethical composure, showing sensitivity to diverse ethnic or religious backgrounds, effectively communicating complex medical diagnoses and treatments to patients and in turn, possessing excellent listening skills, caring for a patient's emotional and psychological well-being, possessing a work ethic that earns trust and confidence from all colleagues and patients, and being willing to help others, but also willing to seek help when necessary. These are values that we share as a profession and that we should reflect on as we do our work, day in and day out, in an environment that makes following them more and more difficult and for that reason more and more important.