And In Stories, Endings Matter.

No Matter What Measures Are Taken, Doctors Will Sometimes Falter, And It Isn't Reasonable To Ask That We Achieve Perfection. What Is Reasonable Is To Ask That We Never Cease To Aim For It.

Sometimes We Can Offer A Cure, Sometimes Only A Salve, Sometimes Not Even That. But Whatever We Can Offer, Our Interventions, And The Risks And Sacrifices They Entail, Are Justified Only If They Serve The Larger Aims Of A Person's Life. When We Forget That, The Suffering We Inflict Can Be Barbaric. When We Remember It The Good We Do Can Be Breathtaking.

Just Using A Checklist Requires [doctors] To Embrace Different Values From Ones We've Had, Like Humility, Discipline, Teamwork.

This Is The Reality Of Intensive Care: At Any Point, We Are As Apt To Harm As We Are To Heal.

Better Is Possible. It Does Not Take Genius. It Takes Diligence. It Takes Moral Clarity. It Takes Ingenuity. And Above All, It Takes A Willingness To Try.