There are certain professions where the calendar doesn’t quite work the way it does for everyone else.

Hospitals don’t close for holidays. Heart attacks don’t check the calendar. Babies are still born. Emergencies still happen. Patients still need surgery. And people still need someone at their bedside.

While many of us are fortunate enough to spend holidays and weekends with family and friends, thousands of healthcare workers are putting on their scrubs, badges, and white coats and heading to work.

Doctors and nurses. Advanced practice providers. Respiratory therapists. Pharmacists. Technologists. Perfusionists. Patient care technicians. Environmental services. Dietary staff. Security. And so many others.

Healthcare is certainly a profession, but it’s also hard work.

It can mean long hours on your feet, nights away from your family, missed dinners, weekends, birthdays, and holidays. Sometimes it means carrying home the emotional weight of caring for another human being on one of the most difficult days of their lives.

I’ve spent most of my life working in hospitals, and one thing I’ve learned is that no physician and no surgeon does this alone.

Everything we accomplish for our patients depends upon a team of people who show up for one another and, most importantly, show up for our patients.

That’s why I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who works in healthcare, especially those who are working while the rest of the world is celebrating.

Thank you for what you do, for the sacrifices you make, and for caring for people when they need us most.

Whatever success I’ve enjoyed in my career over some 35 years now, it’s always been because of the amazing team that surrounds me. And the team I have surrounding me right now is simply the best team I’ve ever had the privilege to work alongside in my entire career.

To my team at Jefferson Health, thank you.

And to every healthcare worker who has worked a weekend, a holiday, a birthday, or a family dinner because patients needed you: your work matters, and you are appreciated.

Interested in my book? You can buy it on Amazon!

(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.)