Nurses Make a Difference
Pam Mulligan, BSN, RN, NBC-HWC
The Heartbeat of Care & Compassion
As we celebrate how much we value nurses for their commitment to us, it’s critical that we make an unwavering commitment back to them. The nurse staffing crisis has become significantly worse according to a recent AACN Critical Care Nurse Work Environment Study. Of the 9000 nurses surveyed, only 25% report adequate staffing, 40% are satisfied with being a nurse (down from 68% in 2018), and less than half felt their organization valued their health and safety. Nurses are struggling to provide safe, quality care with untenable levels of exhaustion, frustration, and resentment. The impact on the future of our healthcare system is more than concerning. We must respond to this alert emergently and make a commitment to support the urgent change required for nurses to continue to make a difference in our lives.
Strengthening the Nation’s Pulse of Compassion and Care
From a clinical perspective, when an entire workforce is hemorrhaging, we find the source of the bleed and do whatever it takes to stop it. This month as we honor our nurses, let’s be mindful that we don’t offer temporary band aids to distract from the underlying issues or add pressure with annoying platitudes. It’s time to recirculate care and provide optimal resuscitation through meaningful recognition and appropriate support. Nurses are innately resilient and do not need to engage in prescriptive self-care activities to increase their tolerance of distress. They need their voices to be heard and their efforts supported by a system they can trust to value their health and well-being. The slow bleed we were all watching pre-pandemic is now out of control and we must run towards our nurses with a crash cart ready to provide whatever it takes for them to be resuscitated and restored. As the alarms escalate in urgency, so must the intensity of our response.
Mending Hearts
It is heartbreaking when those we depend on to alleviate suffering in the world, suffer themselves. Joan Halifax is an expert in sustaining compassionate caregiving. In her 2018 book, Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet, she describes five internal and interpersonal qualities (altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement), called “Edge States” as essential assets that support caregiving. Each quality has the potential to deteriorate and when they do, they manifest as symptoms of empathic distress, moral suffering, disrespect, and overwork that are driving nurses to leave the profession. Her practical advice and wisdom support the moral suffering, emotional exhaustion and compromised integrity often experienced by caregivers, especially those in critical care. This is a timeless gift and guidebook to repair the hearts that strengthen the flow of compassion in our world.
One Stitch at a Time
For more than a decade, I have been managing empathic distress and studying how mindfulness and contemplative science can have an impact our mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Current research shows that the higher the levels of mindfulness, the lower the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and the higher the levels of self-compassion and psychological well-being. This is a great place to start because in any critical situation the first response is to gain clarity of what is needed to move towards homeostasis and stability. We don’t need to be formal meditators to harness the power of these skillful practices to disarm us and enable introspective awareness of our mental and emotional states and behavior. We can integrate these skills into our routines to find clarity and focus on effective actions for repair and restoration.
Deeper Connections
There is no one size fits all approach to well being. We are all powering through grief, uncertainty and change in a state of disconnection and isolation amplified by the pandemic. Our primary goal should be how to reconnect with ourselves and our deepest values so that we can make decisions that align. When we connect with our hearts, we are more open to seeing the interrelationships and interdependence around us with more gratitude and less fear; a state that motivates us to engage in caring reciprocity.
Nurses need healthier work environments that support them to care for themselves as they care for others. It is all connected and who could deny the importance of a caregiver who is present, functioning at their best and able to care for us in our most vulnerable times?
Collaborative Strength
Responding to a crisis brings people together to focus on what matters most and work towards a common goal. There are so many of us working together to help our Nurses continue to make a Difference. The ANA Enterprise highlights the power of collective strength in the 2022 Impact Report. You can add to their strength here. Every effort matters.
However you choose to recognize a nurse this month, first acknowledge the uncomfortable truth of where we are and remind them that they are not alone. Then begin to nourish the seeds planted by surgeon general, Vivek Murthy that hold intentions for how we wish things to BECOME.
We build healthy infrastructures and grow compassionate change one restorative effort at a time by creating stronger networks of support.
Here are a few Resources that offer Nourishing Support
As always, I am here for guidance and support.
With steadfast love,
Pam