Healthcare: A Profession of the Heart

Alabama Nurse, Dec 2003-Feb 2004 by Brown, Richard

Healthcare is a profession of the Heart as well as the Head. But because it has become so "head heavy," many healthcare professionals may be losing some of the love for their profession. There are literally thousands of energetic and dedicated nurses in Alabama. But, unfortunately, there are too many who are saying things like "I just don't have the heart for it anymore," or "I'm going to put my time in and get out as soon as I can."

There are more nurses with four-year and advanced college degrees in healthcare than ever before. At the same time, it helps to be reminded that the worth of a nurse is not determined by the degrees accumulated. A college degree is simply "a ticket for the privilege of serving others," and the worth of nurses is determined only by the service they render. But to serve in today's challenging healthcare environments, it takes a lot of Heart (Compassion, Courage, Confidence and Commitment) to go along with the Head (Knowledge and Skills).

While I served as the Chair of the Educational Leadership Department at Auburn University at Montgomery for many years, several hundred educators received their A and AA Educational Administration certificates. However, the graduates who have made the greatest contributions to Public Education in Alabama were not only academically successful, but they also possessed the heart characteristics of effective school leaders.

The Balance of High Tech/High Touch

In 1982, social forecaster John Naisbitt's book, Megatrends: Ten New Directions in Transforming Our Lives, was published. In Chapter Two, entitled "From Forced Technology to High Tech/High Touch," Dr. Naisbitt wrote:

High Tech/High Touch is a formula I use to describe the way we have responded to technology. Whenever new technology is introduced in society, there must be a counterbalancing human response - that is, high touch - or the technology is rejected. The more high tech, the more high touch. Technology and our human potential are the two great challenges facing humankind. The great lesson we must learn from the principle of high tech/high touch is a modern version of the Greek ideal-Balance."

There's no profession that has had more "forced technology" during the past 20 years than Healthcare. Nurses have been bombarded with "rapid-fire" changes, and it is beginning to take a toll. With the ever-increasing amount of paperwork, even the most competent nurse can develop an attitude of feeling "out of control." And when attitudes deteriorate, so can commitment, loyalty and most importantly, performance.

What Can Healthcare Professionals do?

In his book, Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl describes the brutal experience of being confined to a wartime concentration camp. He lived because he wanted to live. Most died, he observed, because they wanted to die. Out of the experience he discovered "One's ultimate freedom is the ability to choose one's attitudes in any given set of circumstances."

Dr. Frankl's ideas suggest that until people have achieved the ability to choose our attitudes (ways of thinking), we will not be free to be our own persons. And without this freedom, we will be captives of every habit, situation, and surrounding in which we find ourselves.

Attitudes in Action

Therefore, as a nurse, choose to be a positive influence on those around you. Choose to bring out the best in others by always looking for the good in them.

More specifically, choose to make the following "common sense" suggestions "common practice" in your organization. You will be simply amazed at the results.

* Become a better listener. You can have a greater effect on others by the way you listen than by the way you talk.

* Call people by their names. Use them often in your conversations.

* Do things to make others feel important. Write a letter. Give a compliment. Say, "Thank you." Praise. Encourage. Support. Cooperate.

* Be genuinely interested in others. Get them to talk about themselves. Ask for their opinions, ideas, and viewpoints.

* Be enthusiastic. Nothing significant was ever achieved without enthusiasm-including deep, rich personal and professional relationships.

* Help others like themselves. The greatest compliment someone can give you is to say, "I like myself better when I'm with you."

Dr. Brown is the founder of Brown Learning Co., Inc., in Vestavia Hills. He can be reached at brolearn@bellsouth.net