Why kindness makes all the difference for our nurses and health care workers
During National Nurses Week, we reflect on the immeasurable impact of our nursing community. Our nurses are expert clinicians, educators, friends, confidants and more, often in the same moment. They provide a personal connection that’s so important to achieving the best outcomes.
In hospitals, surgery centers, provider offices and schools, our nursing community approaches each day with a singular mission: Provide compassionate care to all while promoting health, healing and wellness in our community.
Our nurses celebrate life’s joys with us, and they grieve with us. They bravely take our hands when we are our most vulnerable. Through good times and bad, what connects every moment is our nurses’ selfless commitment to caring with kindness and decency.
It is also important to recognize that the nursing community is supported by so many others who make health care possible. This month, we also celebrate National Hospital Week and recognize the multidisciplinary teams — both clinical and nonclinical — that are essential to creating the patient experience. We operate as a health care team, and that is by design. Everyone who works in health care makes valued contributions to our collective culture of caring.
While we celebrate health care professionals during national recognition weeks, embracing kindness every day is essential. Sadly, frustration and division in our society has spilled over into health care. Incidents of verbal and physical abuse toward health care workers are on the rise, and as healthcare leaders, we must encourage an environment where our teams feel safe and supported. Approaching every interaction with courtesy and respect costs us nothing, but it can make all the difference in the lives we are affecting.
Every day, I draw on my early experience as a critical care nurse to do just that, ensuring the decisions we make place people at the center of everything we do to meet the evolving needs of our workforce and community. And despite the challenges we face, the future is so bright. Among my greatest joys is the chance to meet and mentor new nurses as they begin their journey. What I see are bright, passionate minds determined to make a difference in their community. I am inspired by their drive, and it energizes me to work with my peers to create an environment where the next generation can grow and thrive.
So, to the 4.3 million registered nurses across the country, including more than 142,000 here in New Jersey: Thank you. If you are a nurse, I hope you’ll take a few moments to reflect on the many lives you’ve touched and the difference you are making each and every day. And the next time you interact with a nurse, remember that your kindness means as much to them as their care means to you.
Lori Herndon, MBA, BSN, RN, is president and CEO of AtlantiCare and Board Chair of the New Jersey Hospital Association.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Kindness makes all the difference for our nurses, health care workers
