The Power of Caring

The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted challenges upon challenges onto healthcare providers across many disciplines. The sheer acuity and volume of patients needing good, compassionate care in New York City created clinical and operational issues across hospitals and staff. Critical care spaces traditionally hummed with an organized rhythm of monitors and alarms amid healing were transformed into tenements of critically ill patients surrounded by cacophonous chaos. In recent years, particularly in light of the pandemic, nursing and other healthcare professions have been plagued with compassion fatigue and care burnout.

Like many nurses before me, I first built my career at the bedside and eventually grew into leadership roles in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Units. I was constantly exposed to high acuity and stressful conditions throughout this time. I prided myself on taking extra measures for my patients, their families, and the nursing team. However, I was not immune to burnout. I understand all too well how debilitating and difficult it can be to fight and work through burnout-related exhaustion. The sheer weight almost drove me to leave nursing altogether.

As I continue my career as a nurse leader and critical care nurse, one of my areas of focus is building, maintaining, and developing a team. Leading critical care nurses across different areas at a large Level 1 academic center in one of the most renowned cities in the world, I appreciate the nuances of each specialty and the various dynamics that come from working in each area. I often reflect on what makes someone a good nurse—a good teammate. What motivates someone to do the right thing every time? This question led me to reflect on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Time is always right to do what’s right.” But what innately motivates someone to do this when battling fatigue and exhaustion?

But how do nurses and other caretakers who dedicate their profession to the art of caring overcome the insidious pandemic of care burnout? Resiliency became the area of focus for my graduate studies.

Resiliency is the ability to adjust to challenges while maintaining a positive sense of control. Without adversity, there is no resiliency. But how does one build resiliency?

I firmly believe it is the desire and ability to care. I went back to answering some fundamental questions, “Why do I do what I do? What drives me every day?” To be a nurse is more than just a job. It comes with a sense of pride and identity. If I tell someone I am a nurse, people make assumptions about who I am.

According to a 2023 Gallup poll, nursing has been rated the most trusted profession in America for the 21st year in a row. My favorite theorist, Jean Watson, uses the Latin words Caritas, love, and compassion,

to represent the core processes of her Theory of Human Caring.

"In recent years, particularly in light of the pandemic, nursing and other healthcare professions have been plagued with compassion fatigue and care burnout"

When I think back on all the people I admire, I realize they all possess one magical trait—caring. My most admired supervisors, teachers, mentors, colleagues, and team members all had this ability to connect with people through their ability to express care. I do not use the word caring as a warm, fuzzy, and, perhaps, trite feeling. However, while managing many teams, I have also learned the difficult lesson that caring is a trait that cannot be taught.

Why is caring so powerful? It is an intrinsic trait. I want to believe everyone has this trait, big or small. To care is to put in effort. It motivates you to do the right thing when no one is looking. Even when you are exhausted, the power of caring drives you to take extra measures to ensure someone is comfortable and suffering less. To care is to push yourself to learn and grow more—to push your limits. To care is to stop and say hello because you want to connect with others. To care is to check in on and help a struggling colleague. It can serve as a lifeline. Its power is infectious. It motivates and inspires others. To care helps build resiliency, which then protects your ability to care. Perhaps it is simplistic to believe that you can combat care fatigue with caring. Going back to answering the question, “Why do I care?” can foundationally transform our ability to care for ourselves and how we care for ourselves. Although it may not be a teachable trait, caring can be awoken within others and used as a powerful resiliency tool for yourself and your teams.