The Courage to Be a Geriatrician

Nursing homes can be grim, frightening places to many who encounter them for the first time. Part of this reaction may come from the way nursing homes remind us of our own frailty, the limits of our hopes of never-ending independence and self-determination. This essay details one physician's struggle to find value in the lives of his nursing home residents, working against a cultural insistence that life's meaning and value depend upon one's actions and achievements. Searching for and finding meaning that transcends the accomplishments and failures of life, that out-survives a failing mind and body is what allowed this physician to find the courage to resist his prejudices against the elderly and infirm. This courage to insist that life is of sufficient value as is, regardless of human ability, is what theologian Paul Tillich calls the courage to be.