The Doctor and Hope

This is so true :) - know matter what - this is how I feel too.

"I think of hope as an emotional vital sign. I can't do my work as a doctor without knowing my patient's temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate. If I am to do my job well, it is just as important for me to take a 'reading' of their level of hopefulness or hopelessness. There is so much we can do as medical professionals even when our treatments fail to cure disease, we can help them cope and to fulfill some realizable goals. But to do so requires knowledge of what people hope for. Goal setting allows doctor and patient to align their expectations and focus on small steps they can take jointly and experience small 'triumphs,'." - Lidia Schapira, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School