Privileged Presence

Liz Crocker & Bev Johnson

Privileged Presence is a collection of over 50 stories that reflect people's health care experiences from the points of view of compassion, communication, collaboration, respect and dignity...or their absence.

This timely book uses real-world experiences recounted by patients and their families, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to illustrate what works and what doesn't, what increases or diminishes people's sense of confidence and well-being.

Rave Reviews

"Providing health care to the sick and injured from earliest infancy to the end of life…or to the worried well, for that matter…is ultimately all about relieving anxiety. Accomplishing that privileged mission requires a partnership of equals between caregivers, patients and their families. The moving stories recorded in these pages offer memorable examples of success and failure. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who shared their experiences with the authors, and to the authors themselves for recording their reflections so faithfully. The indelible lessons that emerge should benefit every individual and institution involved in health care, now and in time to come. But most important of all, future patients and families will be the principal beneficiaries."
—Richard B. Goldbloom OC, MD, FRCPC
Professor of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia

"Privileged Presence provides a unique and valuable insight into the healing power of relationships and partnerships…whether among family or between patients and professionals. Told through elegantly simple and poignant stories, generously shared, this long overdue book is a must read for health care providers of any discipline at any stage of their career."
—Terri L. Shelton, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Director, Center for Youth, Family and community Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)

"How to hold all of what is written in this book without surrendering to the convenient outlet of anger? Instead, how to hold all of this and allow it to seep inside, under the skin, into the bones? Into the bones where it will turn itself into solidity, weight, the stability to meet the gravitational force of too much to do, too little time to do so, too many heart-numbing experiences that so often keep we healthcare professionals from turning toward and facing into the pain of being human? How do we learn to hold the rawness and tenderness, the vulnerability that is ultimately the source of our confidence and willingness to meet the people who seek our help, who count on our humanity as much as our technical expertise and more so, who hope and expect us to be humane and compassionate in the presence of their nakedness? Here is one way: Read this book. Let it break you open…Let it drop you below the first flinch and gasp of pain, below the conditioned stiffness, the old hurt and guilt, into that place deep within you that is capable of entering into and lingering for a time with the truth of these stories. It may save your life, open your heart, and feed your soul by offering you a way of meeting suffering with care, attention, and new found love."
—Saki F. Santorelli, EdD, MA
Executive Director, Center for Mindfulness
     in Medicine, Health Care and Society
Director, Stress Reduction Clinic
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School

"The "privileged presence" of this book's title runs full circle, from the patients, family members, and caregivers who tell their stories of pain, healing, cruelty and kindness in medical care, to the editors who have collected and given voice to their narrators, to the reader who is invited to witness their intimacies. It is right to say that medical encounters represent a privileged presence, that there is a heightened drama and significance to them owing to the vulnerability of those needing help, the power of the helpers, and the meetings of the two parties that still lie at the heart of medicine."
—Michael Rowe, Ph.D., School of Medicine, Yale University & Author of "The Book of Jesse"

"These are the people who bear witness to what is miraculous and what is wrong with health care. They are trusting, and forgiving, honest and inspiring and most of all — they could be you or someone you love. Once you've had the privilege of reading this book, pass it on — it's the best book you will ever give as a gift."
—Nancy DiVenere, President, Parent to Parent USA

"Privileged Presence should be required reading for all health care professionals, especially students. Underlying the quiet dignity of each story is a powerful message about how to become a more skillful clinician."
—William Schwab, MD, Professor, Department of Family Medicine,
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Authors

Liz Crocker's working career has included teaching, broadcasting, writing for newspapers and magazines, and running several businesses. She has owned and run a children's bookstore since 1978 and now has an environmental business with five stores across Canada. Liz has held leadership positions with a number of health care organizations and is Vice President of the Institute for Family-Centered Care.

Bev Johnson is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Family-Centered Care in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a nurse and a trustee of several organizations. She has provided on-site technical assistance and training to over 100 hospitals in North America and worked with the Association of American Medical Colleges on family-centered practice. She is the co-author of several books and the producer of award-winning films in the field.