Is It the Patient Who Needs to Change, Or Is It Us? Being Trauma Informed and Recovery Oriented
As a nurse, I have witnessed remarkable recoveries, acts of resilience, and moments of profound human connection. But I have also observed care plans built around assumptions, interventions delivered without consent, and systems that fail to meet people where they are. Sometimes, I hear phrases in healthcare settings that give me pause. Not because the people saying them are unkind or incompetent, but because the words reflect deeper problems with how we approach care. “If they wanted to get better, they should have just done what we told them to do.” “Sometimes we just need to teach them a lesson.” These statements are often said quietly, maybe in frustration, maybe in resignation. They are not usually meant to be cruel, but they reveal a troubling dynamic: a system more focused on compliance than compassion, more concerned with efficiency than dignity, and more committed to standardization than individualization. So I ask, genuinely, is it the person receiving care who needs to ...