Having Purpose Behind Your Job 🫀

I am a cardiac sonographer—which is a fancy and official way of saying I use ultrasound to look at the structure and function of people’s hearts. While most people associate ultrasound with pictures of babies, I’m the one getting pictures of your grandpa’s heart muscle before & after his coronary bypass or taking a look at your aunt’s heart valves because her doctor heard a loud murmur.

And although I love what I do, I mean getting to peek into people’s hearts every single day is pretty damn cool, I would say that it’s actually not my favorite part of my job…

From a young age, I kinda always knew I would go into the medical field because I liked helping people. When I decided to pursue Echocardiography in college, my mom told me that she knew I would do something to work with the elderly. I was that weird kid that would sit criss-cross applesauce in front of my great grandpa and grandma and listen. I loved hearing how life was so different “back then”. I enjoyed listening to their stories and how they loved each other even when my great grandpa was off at war (he would write my great grandma love letters). I was fascinated with the world and how different it was so many years before my existence.

One of the questions I enjoy asking couples when they come in for their Echo is “how did you meet?” I love seeing my patient’s eyes light up as they get to talk about their love and go back in time. Sadly with COVID, patients aren’t allowed any visitors. Not asking my patient’s these kinds of questions, the stress associated with this pandemic, wearing masks, or maybe it was my own personal struggles, I felt like I wasn’t really bonding with my patients like I once had.

Until recently…

I met Frank (we will call him Frank for privacy purposes) who gave me that spark and reminded me of why I do what I do. He was a 90 something year old man. As I walked into his room, a massive smile came across his face and he said, “Do I get to go on a date with you?” With big grin hidden underneath my COVID mask, I quickly responded “You sure do. We are having an Echo date.” We both chuckled and I knew that we were going to get along. The next hour flew by. He shared stories of his time in the Navy 75 years ago and how he worked on the USS Midway. By the end of the exam, he insisted that when COVID was over, I must tour the ship just for him. I agreed and I plan on sticking to that promise.

So what’s my favorite part of my job? It’s the connections I make with my patients. It’s the connections I make with all my patients, not just the elderly (although, the elderly have a special place in my heart). It’s also that 40 something year old mom that comes in with breast cancer and talks to you about how scared she is, but by the end of the test she’s gratefully saying, “thank you so much for putting me at ease.”

Being in the medical field, there are difficult moments and hard things you witness, but also hidden in there are moments that make the challenging times, hard work, and long days worth it.

I walked out of Frank’s room happy not only because I knew I contributed to making his day better, but because he too helped make my day a little better. This past year has been the roughest time for me in my life thus far, but I am so grateful for patients like Frank that give me my purpose and remind me why I get up every morning, come into work, and perform my job! I hope this can be a good reminder for everyone this week to put intention and purpose behind everything you do. ♥️