Sable Zuza, a fourth-year student in Oakland University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, was among those recognized in the 2019 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest.
Zuza received an honorable mention for her essay, “Kindness and Transformation,” in which she described how a gentle approach helped her connect with an elderly patient during a clinical at a nursing facility. After witnessing the patient’s initial defensiveness, Zuza offered a listening ear and an “open heart” to earn the woman’s trust.
“The more I looked into the woman’s eyes and received her messages with an open heart, the more she confided in me and let her guard down,” Zuza wrote. “The woman began to work with me instead of against me, and I felt the threads of trust and compassion that bound us together.”
Zuza said the experience broadened her perspective on ways that health professionals can care for those in need. She also cited “presence and listening” as powerful tools to transform patients’ health and lives. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Zuza plans to work in labor and delivery as an RN, and eventually pursue a master's degree in nursing, specializing in midwifery.
Sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest prompts medical and nursing students to engage in a reflective writing exercise that illustrates an experience in which they or a team member worked to ensure humanistic care. This year, a panel including health care professionals, writers/journalists and educators judged more than 300 entries from students around the country.