--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are guests in our patients' lives." description: "\"We are guests in our patients' lives.\" — Donald Berwick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png" --- # We are guests in our patients' lives. ![“We are guests in our patients' lives.” quote by Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png) > “We are guests in our patients' lives.” [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes that healthcare providers are temporary participants in patients’ lives. **In simple terms:** Providers are guests in patients’ lives. Key Takeaway Treat patients with respect. Themes healthcare ethics humility patient‑centered service Mood reflective ethical Type statement philosophy When to use this quote - clinical practice - patient interactions - policy making Key Concepts professionalism humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect care decisions? - What limits exist for provider involvement? A Different Perspective Boundaries can blur. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests/) [Guests Patients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests-patients-4365643/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Patients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patients/) [Patients Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patients-lives-378009/) ## Related quotes > [Patients' lives are more important than embryos. I do want to avoid the use of embryos if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinya-yamanaka/patients-lives-are-more-important-than-embryos-i-do-want-to-avoid-the/) [Shinya Yamanaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinya-yamanaka/) > [Safe care saves lives and saves money. Adverse events like high levels of infection, blood clots or falls in hospital, emergency readmissions and pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lansley/safe-care-saves-lives-and-saves-money-adverse-events-like-high-levels/) [Andrew Lansley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lansley/) > [“Death comes for all of us. For us, for our patients: it is our fate as living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Most lives are lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/death-comes-for-all-of-us-for-us-for-our-patients-it-is-our-fate-as/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [“Think of the last time you sat down at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. How likely were you to eat a bit more than normal? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-of-the-last-time-you-sat-down-at-an-all-you-can-eat-restaurant/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are going to share in the most intimate parts of your patients' lives. You will share in their moments of tragedy. But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-brantly/you-are-going-to-share-in-the-most-intimate-parts-of-your-patients/) [Kent Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-brantly/) > [We have really good data that show when you take patients and you really inform them about their choices, patients make more frugal choices.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-have-really-good-data-that-show-when-you-take-patients-and-you/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [I got interested in the emotions after studying patients who had lost the ability to emote and feel under certain circumstances. Many of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/i-got-interested-in-the-emotions-after-studying-patients-who-had-lost/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Only the patients have to take off their clothes. I think I'm pretty safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-stringfield/only-the-patients-have-to-take-off-their-clothes-i-think-i-m-pretty/) [Sherry Stringfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-stringfield/) > [I am here on behalf of all the patients that I have ever met, all the ones I haven't met. This is about letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-debronkart/i-am-here-on-behalf-of-all-the-patients-that-i-have-ever-met-all-the/) [Dave deBronkart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-debronkart/) > [Residents of my district continue to stress to me that they want health care decisions to be made by patients and doctors, not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/residents-of-my-district-continue-to-stress-to-me-that-they-want/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [Patients know what patients want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-debronkart/patients-know-what-patients-want-to-know/) [Dave deBronkart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-debronkart/) > [When the Veterans Affairs Department implemented a program to provide home-based health care to veterans with multiple chronic conditions - many of the system's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-wyden/when-the-veterans-affairs-department-implemented-a-program-to-provide/) [Ron Wyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-wyden/) > [In the first speech I delivered as health secretary, I made one thing perfectly clear: we need a cultural shift in the NHS: from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lansley/in-the-first-speech-i-delivered-as-health-secretary-i-made-one-thing/) [Andrew Lansley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lansley/) > [My job as a physician is to make sure I have provided my patients with the best options to make the decisions that affect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ami-bera/my-job-as-a-physician-is-to-make-sure-i-have-provided-my-patients/) [Ami Bera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ami-bera/) ## More by Donald Berwick > [The Holy Grail of universal coverage in the United States may remain out of reach unless, through rational collective action overriding some individual self-interest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/the-holy-grail-of-universal-coverage-in-the-united-states-may-remain/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [I am worried about the potential effect of casinos on communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/i-am-worried-about-the-potential-effect-of-casinos-on-communities/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Competition makes things come out right. Well, what does that mean in health care? More hospitals so they compete with each other. More doctors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/competition-makes-things-come-out-right-well-what-does-that-mean-in/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [It is, I guess, politically correct, widely believed, that to say that American health care is the best in the world. It's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/it-is-i-guess-politically-correct-widely-believed-that-to-say-that/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [We must accept human error as inevitable - and design around that fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-must-accept-human-error-as-inevitable-and-design-around-that-fact/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Some is not a number. Soon is not a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/some-is-not-a-number-soon-is-not-a-time/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Right now, we are doing it blindly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/right-now-we-are-doing-it-blindly/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [I am romantic about the NHS. I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/i-am-romantic-about-the-nhs-i-love-it/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [We have really good data that show when you take patients and you really inform them about their choices, patients make more frugal choices.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-have-really-good-data-that-show-when-you-take-patients-and-you/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [I have two grandchildren. I want to hand them a planet and community that is really thriving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/i-have-two-grandchildren-i-want-to-hand-them-a-planet-and-community/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/every-system-is-perfectly-designed-to-get-the-results-it-gets/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [I think health care is more about love than about most other things. If there isn't at the core of this two human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/i-think-health-care-is-more-about-love-than-about-most-other-things/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [The chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80% of the total health care bill out there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/the-chronically-ill-and-those-toward-the-end-of-their-lives-are/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [“Praise is infinitely divisible. Give it away every chance you get and there's always plenty left for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/praise-is-infinitely-divisible-give-it-away-every-chance-you-get-and/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) > [Traditional medical ethics, based on the doctor-patient relationship must be changed... The primary function of health care regulations should be to limit an individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/traditional-medical-ethics-based-on-the-doctor-patient-relationship/) [Donald Berwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) [Explore all 21 Donald Berwick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/) ## More Guests quotes > [Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/our-concept-of-a-family-holiday-was-going-to-a-guest-house-in-the/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Whoever expects to walk peacefully in the world must be money's guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/whoever-expects-to-walk-peacefully-in-the-world-must-be-money-s-guest/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Regular panelists on shows can be terrifying. They own that space, and many guest comics suspect they are favoured in the edit, while their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/regular-panelists-on-shows-can-be-terrifying-they-own-that-space-and/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [ I've gotten to portray things in \[Christopher Guest's\] movies that I wouldn't have in others. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-posey/i-ve-gotten-to-portray-things-in-christopher-guest-s-movies-that-i/) [Parker Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-posey/) > [Guests are people who come to your home to see you whine at the table, bark loudly, jump on women wearing pantyhose, and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-kehret/guests-are-people-who-come-to-your-home-to-see-you-whine-at-the-table/) [Peg Kehret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-kehret/) > [Comedy scares me a lot. I feel like it's way harder than drama. I think my safety net is definitely drama, and I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/comedy-scares-me-a-lot-i-feel-like-it-s-way-harder-than-drama-i-think/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [The theme of the party was Neverland Ranch, so guests were asked to come as anyone or anything associated with Michael Jackson. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-winchell/the-theme-of-the-party-was-neverland-ranch-so-guests-were-asked-to/) [April Winchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-winchell/) > [It's different as a guest as opposed to being a star of a series. A guest star is a whole different responsibility. It's much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/it-s-different-as-a-guest-as-opposed-to-being-a-star-of-a-series-a/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. And if people don't think you're going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/when-you-re-running-for-president-you-re-a-guest-in-the-living-room/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [People are either born hosts or born guests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/people-are-either-born-hosts-or-born-guests/) [Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/) > [In order to prove a friend to one's guests, frugality must reign in one's meals; and, according to an ancient saying, one must eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/in-order-to-prove-a-friend-to-one-s-guests-frugality-must-reign-in/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [If you don't have any individuality and you're happy just being one of the girls (or boys) be my guest. I'm not the fashion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/if-you-don-t-have-any-individuality-and-you-re-happy-just-being-one/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [The average actor might only be able to book six to eight guest star jobs a year - that would be high. So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-broderick/the-average-actor-might-only-be-able-to-book-six-to-eight-guest-star/) [Beth Broderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-broderick/) [Browse all 843 Guests quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guests/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are guests in our patients' lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Berwick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guests" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d6/donald-berwick-26622_guests_we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives-2938_2938030.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are guests in our patients' lives.” — Donald Berwick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donald Berwick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-berwick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are guests in our patients'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-berwick/we-are-guests-in-our-patients-lives/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```