Know My Voice®
Nurses Week runs from May 6th through May 12th and it is a celebratory week for the 3.6 million nurses that are in the United States. Last year, we highlighted some nursing pioneers. This year, we are highlighting one of the most influential roles nurses can have on others: the ability for nurses to save lives.
When does healthcare start?
January 13, 2026
If I were to ask you the question, “when does healthcare start?”, what comes to mind?
I have asked this question many times to different audiences of nurses and healthcare professionals. I typically will get a silent pause to start.
That silent pause is an indication that thought is going into the answer (and perhaps there is some unknown as this may not be a common question).
Several years ago, when I first started asking this question, the most common answer was with one’s insurance card or at the hospital.
I know that I had that thought as well for the first decade or more of my career. As a registered nurse, I am considered a healthcare professional. Hospitals were the primary place of employment for registered nurses when I graduated from my undergraduate program at Georgetown. Hospitals are also the primary place of employment for registered nurses today.
However, one day I was listening to a presentation about healthcare that shifted my perspective. I am a person before I am a healthcare professional. As a person, I will have healthcare needs. I also have some agency around decisions I make each day regarding my health.
This agency is around what is called, modifiable risk factors. Modifiable risk factors are choices we can make each day that can impact our health in the short or long term. Examples include whether or not one smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, is active or sedentary, and to some degree food choices. Non-modifiable risk factors also affect our overall health. Examples of non-modifiable risk factors include our genetic composition (e.g., inherited diseases and/or carriers for diseases), age, race and ethnicity.
As humans and people, our daily choices can influence our modifiable risk factors. Thus, our daily choices can influence parts of our health but not all of it.
In areas where we do not have the ability to modify our risk factors, healthcare expertise, diagnosis, treatment, care and intervention can be of great value. There are three levels of care: primary, secondary and tertiary care.
Often, when someone needs to go to the hospital, that is seeking out tertiary level care. Primary care is preventative in nature. The goal of primary care is to prevent or identify any potential health issues before the need for greater intervention.
Therefore, as you navigate your day to day, consider if there may be one action you take today, tomorrow or the day after that you think about as it relates to your short and long term health.
~ Dr. Kelley
