Paul Farmer Interview from TCU Student Media on Vimeo.

One humanitarian says realism is overrated when dealing with critically ill or injured patients.

Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health and professor at Harvard Medical School, has been working to provide medical care for impoverished countries for more than 30 years.

He says he wants to stay optimistic about every patient because a small group of people can make a big difference.

“The best way to stay positive is to see a positive outcome,” Farmer said. “So I’m going to give a lot of back credit to the patients that we’re able to take care of. If we have the stuff we need they tend to get better, so that kept me positive through a lot of dark times.”

Haiti, Rwanda and Peru are just some of the countries Farmer has visited and worked with patients and local colleagues.

The “Bending the Arc” documentary focuses on the work Farmer, Jim Yong Kim, Ophelia Dahl, Todd McCormack and Thomas White did to change global health. They are all founders of Partners in Health.

The most recent accomplishment is the university built in Rwanda, which is an academic medical center.

Farmer said he is looking forward to spending more time at the university.

“Rwanda is far away but very much in my heart,” Farmer said.

He says through investing in his work and local colleagues he will see improvements.

“That’s what I’ve learned about myself: Don’t let it be about me,” Farmer said.