Meeting People Where They Are in Healthcare

I want to share some perspective on health, healthcare, and meeting people where they are.
I get tired of the conversations I see on social media. Certain topics get so loud, judgmental, and honestly it drives me crazy.

I have cared for people across every end of the health spectrum. That experience has shaped me into someone who deeply values understanding, empathy, and meeting people in their reality…not mine.

In nursing school, I learned a statistic that stuck with me: the average patient education level in the hospital is around an eighth-grade level. But on social media, we talk like everyone has access to functional medicine, biohacking, supplements, and boutique wellness routines. We forget that there are people living in poverty. People who are food-insecure. People who simply don’t have the education or resources to make what we would label as “good health choices.”

Let’s talk about obesity, because it’s the example that gets tossed around the most.
There’s this quick jump to judgment: lazy, undisciplined, and unmotivated.
But when you work in healthcare, you learn very quickly, you know nothing about someone’s life from the outside. The moment you think you do, you’ve lost humility.

You only see a patient for 15–30 minutes during a visit. Out of 365 days. Out of every hour of stress they carry, responsibilities they shoulder, and pain they don’t talk about.
And then you sit down with them and start to understand.

You learn they had to quit their job because they care full-time for a parent with dement
They haven’t had a moment to themselves in months. They’re drowning financially.
They aren’t lazy at all. They are overwhelmed, exhausted, and doing the best they can.

Or you learn their child passed away. And suddenly you realize that telling them to “just get up and work out” is not only unrealistic, it’s cruel.

Healthcare requires compassion. Our job is to guide, without judgement. To recognize that health circumstances are not always black and white. It’s not “you’re overweight, go exercise.”
Life is messy. People carry unimaginable burdens. And sometimes survival itself is the win.

Yes, there are people who make choices that frustrate us. But that’s where trust, time, and understanding come in. That is where getting to know the person in front of you matters. Every story is different.

I truly believe in a judgment-free approach. Understand the full circumstances before you ever think you have the right to label someone. Meeting people where they are isn’t optional in healthcare, it is the expectation. And here is a reminder to widen your viewpoint.