The Healing Power of Being There: Rediscovering Purpose in Healthcare

Think about a moment when someone showed up for you—really showed up—right when you needed it most.

What was the impact of feeling supported, cared for, and helped when you really needed it? 

Offering suuport doesn’t even have to be a big gesture: a friend who is willing to listen, your own medical provider who is invested in your care, someone picking up your kids when you are totally overwhelmed, receiving a text message that someone is thinking of you, a token of kindness when a family member passes, someone overlooking your outburst when they know you are stressed.

The impact of kindness is profound, not because of the action itself but because it is the direct result of someone caring, the direct manifestation of the connection that all humans need. It reinforces that we are not alone, even if the kindness comes from a complete stranger. 

Perhaps this stirs a memory of such a time when you experienced kindness in your life. I hope so. 

Acknowledging the importance of care and grounding it in personal experience is the first step in an exercise that can restore and inspire you, allowing you to gain energy from a profession that appears draining and difficult. 

The second step is to make a mental note (or even better, a physical list) of the people you impacted with kindness or care this week. These names may come easily, or you may need to review your schedule or census. It’s important to identify specific names. Again, remember that care can take many forms; listening to a patient’s regret that they didn’t see family over the holiday or figuring out a complex diagnosis and establishing a proactive plan of care. 

Make the list. Look at the names. Think of the people behind the diagnosis, the treatment, the care plans. Take a minute to mentally connect with them as you review your week. 

Care is important. Connection is a basic human need. 

Yes, this week was crazy. Yes, there were things done incompletely, things that were rushed, things that took more time than they should have. Yes, competing priorities may be leaving you feeling drained. This is why it is important to make this list. When I went through my schedule of the last two days there were at least 20 people that I could say with certainty that I helped in some way -and these were just the patient visits that I could recall with clarity without going through charts and without thinking too hard. 

However, if I hadn’t done this exercise, I wouldn’t have thought about them much at all. 

To be clear, this is normal. Compartmentalizing work in some capacity can be very protective to our lives outside of work, BUT if we are going to think about work, why not spend some time acknowledging the true impact of the work we do, especially when caring for one patient impacts not just the patient but their loved ones as well. The act of caring for someone can have a profound ripple effect. 

This is easily demonstrable when you consider the effect on a mom when you help her sick child. AND the impact of the mom being supported on the rest of the family system. 

Why did you go into healthcare? Why are you a nurse? (or a PA, doc, nutritionist, physical therapist- I see you too.)

We chose healthcare to care for people, to show care, to GIVE care. 

We went into healthcare so no one would be alone, so that if there is something that can be done to help, it gets done. 

We went into healthcare because people matter. 

You made people matter this week. Don’t brush past this truth. There is no greater gift to give, nothing more important than caring for other human beings. 

Being a nurse isn’t the only way to do this but it is the way you are really good at. 

Remembering your WHY is just one step- the other is to see that you are actually fulfilling that purpose. Care is important and acknowledging the impact that you are having on someone else’s life is a great way to care for yourself. Who did you care for this week—and how did that change their world?

Thank you for the work you do; you are changing lives.

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If you’re feeling drained or disconnected from your purpose, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Let’s work together 1:1 to rediscover your why, rebuild your energy, and reconnect with the impact you make every day. Reach out at Megan@NursingBeyondtheJob.com