What nurses can teach us | Christie Watson | TEDxVienna

Summary

The speaker reflects on their journey from a young nurse inspired by TV dramas to a professor of Medical Humanities, exploring the critical role of compassion in healthcare. They recount their experience of compassion fatigue, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how compassion became central to their work in a field hospital. Through stories like that of a patient named Betty, the speaker emphasizes the profound impact of human connection in nursing, advocating for a collective return to compassion and empathy in a world overwhelmed by suffering.

Takeaways

• 😊 Compassion is crucial in healthcare, but it can lead to burnout, especially for those dealing with constant suffering, like nurses.
• 😔 The speaker experienced compassion fatigue during their time as a nurse, feeling numb to suffering after years of exposure.
• 😷 The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of compassion, but also intensified the speaker's feelings of burnout.
• 🩺 Returning to nursing during the pandemic, the speaker became the lead nurse for compassionate care in a COVID ICU, realizing that saving lives wasn't always possible, but compassion could make a difference.
• 🙌 Compassion became the central aim of healthcare during the pandemic, and the speaker emphasizes that history will judge us by how compassionate we were.
• 😢 The pandemic also uncovered other social crises, like loneliness, inequality, and mental health struggles, compounding the challenges healthcare workers face.
• 🛑 Despite initial public support for healthcare workers, such as clapping for carers, people quickly retreated into their own worlds, overwhelmed by their own pain.
• 👩‍⚕️ Nurses play a critical role beyond their technical skills, providing emotional support and human connection, as illustrated by the speaker’s story of comforting an elderly patient named Betty.
• 🌍 The speaker urges us to reawaken to the compassion seen at the beginning of the pandemic and to apply it in broader contexts, helping to create inclusive communities.
• 💡 In times of great suffering, compassion may not cure us, but it can save us by helping us reconnect with our humanity and the shared experience of feeling deeply.

Q & A

What did the speaker initially think nursing was about when she started her training?

When the speaker began her nursing training at 17, she thought it was primarily about resuscitation, saving lives, and cracking chests, inspired by television shows like *E.R.*.

What realization did the speaker have about compassion during her time as a nurse?

The speaker realized that compassion is central to nursing, and that nursing is about much more than just saving lives—it involves caring for people in their most vulnerable moments.

Why did the speaker feel burnt out and numb during her years as a hospital nurse?

The speaker experienced compassion fatigue, which caused her to feel numb and indifferent to extreme suffering. Constant exposure to pain and trauma, like viruses, can become overwhelming and emotionally exhausting.

What role did the speaker take on during the COVID-19 pandemic?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the speaker reluctantly returned to clinical work and served as the lead nurse for compassionate care at a field hospital set up as a COVID ICU.

What does the speaker suggest is the key to how history will judge healthcare workers during the pandemic?

The speaker suggests that history will judge healthcare workers by their compassion, as it became clear that saving lives was not always possible, and compassion became the central focus.

How does the speaker describe the world's initial response to the pandemic, and how did it change over time?

At the start of the pandemic, the world was alive with compassion, with people clapping for healthcare workers and helping their neighbors. However, over time, people became more isolated and inward-focused, with a collective numbness setting in.

What is compassion fatigue, and how does the speaker suggest we recover from it?

Compassion fatigue is the emotional exhaustion that comes from constant exposure to suffering. The speaker believes that we can recover from it by remembering our capacity for empathy, helping others, and reconnecting with our humanity.

What story does the speaker share about her patient Betty, and why is it significant?

The speaker shares a story about Betty, an elderly woman who felt heartache after her husband’s recent death. The speaker did simple acts of care, like sitting with her and holding her hand, and Betty later said the speaker had 'saved her life.' This story emphasizes the power of compassion in nursing.

What does the speaker believe nursing represents in the broader sense of humanity?

The speaker believes that nursing is a measure of humanity, as it involves showing compassion and care for the most vulnerable people. Nurses represent a universal language of compassion that upholds the dignity of individuals.

What message does the speaker leave the audience with, quoting the poet Rumi?

The speaker encourages the audience to persevere and embrace compassion, even when tired or overwhelmed. She quotes Rumi, saying, 'I know you are tired, but come. This is the way.'

Outlines

00:00

🩺 Compassion Fatigue and the Journey of a Nurse

The narrator reflects on their early career as a nurse, focused on saving lives and inspired by medical dramas. As they advanced in their career, they faced the reality of burnout, particularly in intensive care, where they became numb to suffering. The Latin root of 'compassion' is explored, emphasizing that compassion involves sharing in the suffering of others. The narrator recalls a moment on a flight where they hesitated to offer help, mirroring their return to nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a lead nurse for compassionate care in a field hospital, they witnessed the limits of saving lives and how compassion became a vital goal. The pandemic briefly awakened global compassion, but this was soon forgotten, leading to a collective numbness in the face of ongoing crises.

05:03

😔 Compassion Fatigue and Overcoming Numbness

The narrator describes the overwhelming feeling of compassion fatigue due to the global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and social inequalities. They discuss how people turned inward, shutting out the world’s suffering. Despite this, the narrator emphasizes the possibility of recovering from compassion fatigue, drawing on their personal journey of rediscovery as a nurse. They recount a touching story about a patient named Betty, who found comfort not from medical intervention but from human connection. The narrator reflects on the privilege of nursing and its unique role in supporting people at their most vulnerable. Nurses, they assert, do much more than provide medical care; they embody compassion, which remains crucial to human survival.

10:04

💪 The Power of Compassion and Collective Humanity

The narrator concludes by discussing the importance of compassion in today’s world. They argue that although compassion cannot cure all ills, it can help save humanity. In a time of isolationism and division, the narrator calls for a return to feeling deeply and recognizing our shared humanity. They stress that raising one's hand to help others is crucial for overcoming collective numbness. The narrator ends with a quote from the poet Rumi, urging action despite exhaustion, reinforcing the message that compassion and human connection are the paths forward in a world full of suffering.

Keywords

💡Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue refers to the emotional and physical exhaustion that professionals, especially in healthcare, experience after prolonged exposure to the suffering of others. In the script, the speaker describes feeling apathetic and indifferent to extreme suffering during her time as a nurse, indicating that compassion fatigue had set in. This concept highlights one of the key challenges faced by healthcare workers, where constant empathy can lead to burnout.

💡Compassion

Compassion is defined as the deep awareness of the suffering of others coupled with the desire to alleviate it. The speaker emphasizes that compassion is central to nursing and healthcare work. She reflects on how her research and personal experience as a nurse in an ICU, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforced her belief that compassion, not just technical skill, is crucial to saving lives and caring for patients.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, particularly in professions like nursing. The speaker mentions that during her years working as an intensive care nurse, she felt burned out and indifferent to the suffering around her. This feeling of burnout is a key part of the speaker's narrative about compassion fatigue and its effects on healthcare professionals.

💡Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a backdrop to much of the speaker's narrative. She recounts how the pandemic revealed underlying societal issues such as loneliness, inequality, and mental health struggles. The pandemic also forced her and many others to return to the frontline of healthcare, where compassion became the central aim of their work in saving lives, despite the overwhelming challenges.

💡Nurse

The speaker's identity as a nurse is crucial to understanding her perspective. Nursing is described as a profession that goes beyond medical duties to include deep emotional labor, care, and compassion. She describes nurses as being present during the most vulnerable moments in people's lives, holding hands, offering comfort, and reminding patients that they are not alone. The script also highlights that nurses are critical professionals who manage both clinical expertise and compassionate care.

💡Empathy

Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is closely tied to the speaker's discussion of compassion. In the healthcare setting, empathy is a tool that allows nurses to connect with patients on a deeper level. However, the speaker notes that continuous exposure to others' pain can lead to compassion fatigue, where empathy becomes harder to sustain, reflecting the emotional toll of healthcare work.

💡Humanity

Humanity, in the context of the script, refers to the qualities of compassion, empathy, and kindness that define us as people. The speaker asserts that healthcare work, particularly nursing, is a measure of our humanity, as it requires placing others' needs before our own. She suggests that the pandemic has given everyone an opportunity to reflect on their humanity and the importance of compassion in the face of suffering.

💡Trauma

Trauma, both physical and emotional, is a recurring theme in the speaker's experience as a nurse. She discusses how healthcare workers are regularly exposed to the trauma of their patients, and how this constant exposure can affect their mental health. Trauma, like suffering, is described as 'infectious,' leading to compassion fatigue and emotional burnout in those who care for others.

💡Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to recover from difficulties, and the speaker exemplifies this through her journey of overcoming compassion fatigue. She talks about how she was able to rediscover her purpose and compassion after feeling emotionally drained. This resilience is critical in healthcare, where professionals must continually confront human suffering while maintaining their ability to care.

💡Community

Community, in the script, refers to the sense of shared responsibility and collective care that was heightened during the early stages of the pandemic. The speaker mentions how people came together, clapping for carers and helping their neighbors. However, she also notes how this sense of community quickly faded, highlighting the need for sustained empathy and support to rebuild and maintain inclusive, compassionate communities.

Highlights

The speaker expresses frustration with compassion fatigue, explaining how they didn’t start their career as a nurse thinking much about compassion.

Nursing taught the speaker that saving lives is more than just technical skills like resuscitation; it’s also about compassion.

The speaker left nursing in 2018 but returned during the pandemic as a lead nurse for compassionate care in a COVID ICU.

During the pandemic, the speaker experienced a collective compassion that was short-lived, as the world quickly turned inward and became numb again.

The speaker describes compassion fatigue as a condition where healthcare workers become numb after witnessing too much suffering.

Nurses are often overwhelmed by the infectious nature of pain and trauma, leading to apathy and indifference over time.

The speaker recounts an experience with an elderly patient, Betty, and how sitting with her and offering simple companionship was life-changing for the patient.

The speaker argues that compassion should be central to how history judges us, especially during times of crisis like the pandemic.

COVID-19 exposed many other pandemics: loneliness, inequality, violence, racism, and mental illness, adding to the emotional burden.

Despite the short-lived compassion during the pandemic, the speaker believes it is possible to recover from compassion fatigue.

Nurses are described as not only compassionate caretakers but also highly skilled, rigorously trained professionals who work in a variety of settings.

The speaker emphasizes that nurses provide more than just medical care; they embody a universal language of compassion.

The speaker quotes Rumi, an Afghan poet, to encourage people to keep going, despite being tired, because compassion is the way forward.

The speaker calls for a return to the compassionate spirit seen at the beginning of the pandemic, highlighting the need for radical change in society.

The speech ends with a reflection on the power of compassion to save us and urges the audience to feel deeply and turn outward to help others.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Annet Johnson Reviewer: Amanda Zhu

I am sick and tired of compassion.

I wasn't always like this.

When I started my nurse training at the age of 17,

I didn’t think much about compassion at all.

I thought about resuscitation and saving lives and cracking chests.

I thought a lot about television programs,

like E.R.,

and I thought a great deal about George Clooney.

(Laughter)

But nursing taught me pretty quickly

that saving lives is about a lot more than cracking chests.

In 2018, I left the nursing register.

And I am a writer and Professor of Medical and Health Humanities,

and my research over the last few years

has been about compassion, and empathy, and kindness,

and what it means to be human.

And central to the idea of all my work

is that compassion is the most important thing of all.

And yet,

I realized that during my years as a hospital nurse,

particularly in intensive care,

I felt a bit burnt out,

apathetic,

and sometimes even indifferent to extreme suffering.

I was experiencing compassion fatigue.

Pain and trauma, like viruses, can be extremely infectious,

and nurses, and other healthcare workers, they swallow suffering every single day.

Indeed, the word “compassion” comes from Latin “compassiōnem,”

which means “to suffer with,” “suffering together,”

and there’s only so long you can do that for,

if you do it right,

without becoming a little bit numb.

I felt a bit numb.

And then came the pandemic.

I remember being on a flight once, coming back from Kenya.

There was an announcement on the Tannoy:

“Is there a doctor or nurse on board the plane?”

I looked around.

Nothing.

And then the announcement again:

“Is there a nurse or doctor on board the plane?

Please make yourself known to the cabin crew.”

Now, I had no intention of making myself known.

In fact, I slid down my seat.

I wanted to drink my gin and tonic and read my magazine in peace.

But the announcement again, and this time the voice was urgent:

“Is there a healthcare worker on the plane?

Please, we need help.

We need help.”

And so,

I slowly and reluctantly raised my hand.

During the first peak of this pandemic,

I slowly and I reluctantly raised my hand again,

and I returned to clinical work for a short time.

I found myself the lead nurse for compassionate care

in one of the field hospitals

that had been hastily set up in just nine days as a COVID ICU.

We were told our function was to save as many lives as possible.

And it quickly became very apparent with this awful, awful disease

that we weren’t going to save anywhere near as many lives as we wanted to,

and compassion became our central aim.

Compassion, we realized, is how history will judge us,

and it’s how history should judge us.

We weren’t alone in our thinking;

there was a time at the beginning of this,

a hot moment, when the world felt alive with compassion.

It's like we were shaken awake.

How quickly we forget.

One minute people were on their doorsteps,

they were banging pots and clapping for carers

and delivering food parcels to their neighbours who were shielding,

and the very next moment people’s curtains closed.

Everyone shuffled past each other, heads down, no eye contact.

Everyone turned inwards -

we all did -

just trying to process our own pain.

And a collective numbness swept through the world.

It is no surprise.

We are bombarded with tragedy.

The COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the other pandemics that already existed:

loneliness, inequality, injustice, violence, racism, mental illness.

The events in Afghanistan, they’re hard to even think of.

And the existential threats of climate change,

we are now told, is code red for humanity.

We are tired.

We are overwhelmed,

and we’re saturated with images of devastating suffering,

and so, sometimes it’s all we can do to turn off the relentless news

and watch Love Island instead.

(Laughter)

Maybe that’s just me.

But it is possible to recover from this compassion fatigue.

We must recover from it.

I know it’s possible because I did.

Shortly after returning to clinical work,

I remembered something really, really important.

I remembered what my patients had taught me,

and I remembered what it means to be a nurse.

In all my years in hospitals, I never once met George Clooney.

(Laughter)

But I did meet lots of patients like Betty.

Betty was elderly and frail, and she was alone,

And she was lying on a trolley in a corridor

outside Accident & Emergency.

She’d come into the hospital with chest pain and hypothermia.

I did a 12-lead ECG, some observations, some blood tests,

and we couldn't find anything at all wrong with Betty.

So I got this Bair Hugger machine,

which has white billowing fabric to warm her up.

And I made her a sandwich and a cup of tea.

I just sat with her and held her hand.

And then she told me about Stan.

She told me Stan, her husband of a lifetime,

had died in the hospital two weeks before.

She described her heart pain, not chest pain.

She told me how they had danced,

and how the fabric from the Bair Hugger machine

reminded her of the parachute silk from her wedding dress,

and how time flies.

She said I’d saved her life.

Of course, I’d done no such thing.

I just sat with her a while and I held her hand.

But it was impossible to tell

where Betty’s hand ended and where my hand began,

and nursing exists in that space.

We exist in that space.

What a privilege to hold the hand of a person

at the frailest, most extreme and significant moment of their life,

to be a nurse.

Nurses remind us that we are not alone,

not even now.

But, of course, they do a lot more than hold hands.

Nurses are safety-critical, rigorously trained professionals.

They are scientists and researchers and leaders and entrepreneurs

and artists, and they’re clinical experts.

They weave around our world caring for people

in every setting you can imagine:

school nurses, district nurses,

practitioners working in mental health and learning disability settings,

forensic nurses, military nurses,

nurses working in prisons, on homeless healthcare teams,

in hospices.

we’ve looked after children.

There are even nurses working behind the scenes on Love Island.

(Laughter)

The World Health Organization estimates there are 27.9 million nurses globally.

27.9 million individuals who have, despite personal risk,

placed compassion at the center of their universe for us.

Nursing is a language with many different accents,

but it’s a universal language too.

It’s a kind of faith in itself, with compassion at its core,

a belief and respect in every single individual’s worth, regardless.

If how we treat our most vulnerable is a measure of our society,

then the act of nursing itself is a measure of our humanity,

and we all are now thinking, during this time of great suffering,

about our humanity.

Who are we?

Who are we meant to be?

COVID has given all of us the time for radical change

and the chance for radical change.

But we must shake ourselves awake again

and remember the action we saw at the beginning of this pandemic

when we glimpsed our capacity

for grace, for tolerance, and for love.

We can remind each other of our potential by listening, really listening,

thinking of other families as well as our own,

by helping those who need help in practical ways

and building inclusive communities.

Betty was right.

Nurses are right.

Compassion cannot cure us,

but compassion can save us, regardless.

The word “compassion” comes from “compassionem,”

meaning “to suffer with,”

but the word “suffer” comes from feeling, “to feel keenly.”

In this age of isolationism and division and hatred,

it is not feeling anything that we all must fear.

In order to turn outwards, we need to feel all the feelings

and remember our capacity, our incredible human spirit.

It’s time for us to raise our hands.

Rumi was a 13th century Afghan poet.

In my opinion, he was the greatest poet in all of history.

And I’m going to leave you with his words, more relevant today than perhaps ever:

“I know you are tired, but come.

This is the way.”

Thank you.

(Applause) (Cheers)