Dr. Cirillo: My answer is: every patient you go to see. You just laid out many of the challenges we face: the realities of medicine, being overwhelmed in the ED, and the economics of health care in this country. When I give talks to residents or ACEP Chapters, I put up a slide with 15 of these problems, and I’ll say, “We all feel like Sisyphus, about to get crushed by the rock again today.” But then I remember, that’s not why we’re here. Ultimately, we’re here every day in the emergency department to be healers. People come to us because they trust us, not only to care about them, but to care for them. They also trust that we’ll know the science. I tell residents and students: if you’ve made it this far, you’re smart. Learning the science won’t set you apart. That’s what everyone expects when you introduce yourself as “doctor.”

What makes the difference is who you are when you walk into that room, and whether you truly understand what that patient needs [to have] healed that day. Sometimes it’s the medical issue. But often it’s not their body that needs healing. It’s their mind or their soul.

We have more power to change the world, one human interaction at a time, than we’re told. When you heal another human being, you create ripples in the world. You won’t always see those ripples, because those people leave and often don’t come back. But you have no idea how much you’ve changed them. Don’t ever underestimate that. If you want to feel good about something, that’s the restorative moment, when you physically touch another human being and help heal them.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Although Dr. Cirillo is originally from Brooklyn, he said this in a very Boston accent after living in New England for 28 years.

Reference

1. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. By the Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Will Take Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raise Families’ Costs. Published August 27, 2025. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/by-the-numbers-harmful-republican-megabill-will-take-health-coverage-away-from#:~:text=Roughly%2015%20million%20people%20will,not%20available%20at%20this%20time.