What We Learn From the Strongest Patients

In this deeply personal episode of We Are Human, co-hosts Dr. Tommy Martin and Dr. Tyler Beauchamp unpack the emotional and psychological toll of working in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Drawing from Tyler’s recent rotation, they explore how the resilience of critically ill children often eclipses that of the adults around them, and how bearing witness to that kind of strength changes you.

Tyler shares powerful stories from the bedside: children who, in the face of unimaginable circumstances, manage to adapt with grace and quiet courage, even as their families and clinicians struggle to stay afloat. These moments become mirrors - forcing physicians to confront their own emotional boundaries, the weight of responsibility, and the cost of compassion.

What emerges is a conversation about the humanity behind the white coat: the grief, the growth, the quiet victories, and the impossible choices. Together, Tommy and Tyler reflect on how healthcare professionals can carry the emotional load of this work without becoming hardened by it, and why the deepest connections often form in the most difficult moments.

This episode is a raw, resonant tribute to resilience in all its forms, and a reminder that even in the darkest rooms of the hospital, there is still light.

Hosted by: Dr. Tommy Martin & Dr. Tyler Beauchamp

Produced by: The Hippocratic Collective

Music by: Rushay