When I think back on my career thus far, I do not remember the shifts that I left early or the days when everything went perfectly. But when Willie Nelson comes on over the radio, I can close my eyes and picture the vibrant colors of a woman's last sunset.

Graduate nursing student Jessica Pierce reflects on what brings meaning to her job—discovering the person inside each patient and letting them see her compassion in return.

This essay placed first in the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest and was published in the December 2022 issue of Academic Medicine. Read the essay at academicmedicine.org.