Compelled By Compassion

In a recent training our guest speaker, a regional clinical leader for a leading skilled nursing/long term care operator, spoke eloquently about what connects all great healthcare team members. The focus of his speech was on three areas: Calling, Suffering and Compassion.

No great nurse, caregiver, chaplain or social worker got into the caring professions to get rich. All great care professionals got into care delivery as they felt, deep down in their hearts, that care delivery was a calling. A calling is defined as “a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career; a vocation”. But what is that “calling”, calling us to do?

Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.

Tia Walker

The second part of the speaker’s lesson was around the acknowledgement of “Suffering”. In the healthcare world and especially in the senior care world the suffering is glaring. Loss of physical capabilities lead to emotional feelings of loss of autonomy as people are no longer able to do the things they love with the people they love. This is true suffering on both a physical and emotional level.

The final part of the lesson was around Compassion. Compassion is defined as “sympathy and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others”. The speaker said we should be “Compelled by Compassion”. Isn’t that a beautiful place to come from, from a place of compassion, with sympathy and understanding for the suffering?

So, if we put this all together, we are to be “Compelled by Compassion to meet the needs of the Suffering to fulfill our Calling”. I could not imagine a more appropriate definition of a beautiful nurse or caregiver, chaplain or social worker. These are truly people who are truly “compelled by compassion” and for them we are so grateful as they make the world a much better and brighter place.

May we all be “Compelled by Compassion to meet the needs of the Suffering to fulfill our Calling” today.