9 MAY 2024I 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.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. IN RECENT YEARS, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC, NURSING AND OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS HAVE BEEN PLAGUED WITH COMPASSION FATIGUE AND CARE BURNOUT
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