Q: When you think about “building moral community,” what comes to mind?

Moral community is guided by the key principles and values that we live by: human dignity, respect, care for all, social justice. These are very central to a nursing conception of moral community. I am very influenced by the work of the theorist, philosopher and nurse Jean Watson. She talks about our commitment as health care professionals to care for the other in the face of their vulnerability. All of us are vulnerable to some degree, especially when we are sick. To maintain that human dignity and that human connection is what guides me. We must put the patient, the family, and the community in the middle of the circle. Nurses are good at illuminating the multifaceted perspective of what this human, this family, this community really needs. Nursing brings together that holistic viewpoint. The undergirding values really drive what it means to be a moral agent as a nurse. It’s bringing in all the various components – health, well-being, the alleviation of suffering – in the context of the individual’s life circumstances.

Q: What relationships have been important to you in building a moral community to support your practice as a nurse, faculty member, and leader?

Caring relationships are the fundamental priority in any of those spaces. There are many people, individually or as a collective, that have influenced me and are essential to my journey. Much of my work as a nurse is about helping people see beyond the immediacy of their physical, psychological, or even spiritual suffering. It is the healing presence of a relationship that establishes a sense of peace. A relationship is when you’re able to see the other. You’re able to understand, but not experience, their suffering. It’s the type of empathy that allows you to be on their journey as a resource and facilitator. Many patients and colleagues have influenced me in this way to build community. We continue to learn from one another.

Q: What will your presentation at the conference focus on, and why is this topic important right now?

My talk is about “wellbecoming,” a term that is not so familiar to people. Well-being is a moment in time. I could ask you what your sense of well-being is right now on a scale of 0-10, where 10 is I’m thriving – everything is working well, I’m revived and energetic – and 0 is I’m in the pits, I couldn’t be any lower. Well-being is a state. “Wellbecoming” is a life process whereby we are attendant to our own patterns and how they’re showing up in our life – through the decisions we’re making, through the intentions we have, through the choices we make – such that we’re prioritizing those states of well-being. It’s always evolving, and we’re learning as we go. How did I go from 0 to 100 in this situation? I was
in a calm state, and 5 minutes later, I’m in a state of panic, anxiety, or anger. It’s getting people to think about how they’re the owner and creator of their own being, and the process of being, over time, is a process of becoming. It’s a little philosophical, but it’s also what I know about life at 59 years of age, which is that we’re continuously evolving, and it requires us to be aware. It requires us to make choices that are deliberate and intentional, to understand how it has an effect on our own sense of peace, harmony, concordance. But also the ripple effects that it has on the environment based on what choices we’re making, how we’re showing up, and how we’re being.

Clinician well-being is one of the most important things that we have to embrace as a moral community because it has ripple effects. It’s an ethical responsibility to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else. In nursing, we have not been very good with this historically; we don’t necessarily prioritize our own self-care because it seems inconsistent with the mission when you put everybody else first. Your care of self is also a priority. Your well-being affects the well-being of the environment and the patients you care for. You’re able to be an agent of well-being once you understand it in your own lived experience. There’s burnout, there’s stress, there are shortages across most healthcare disciplines. It’s really challenging for everyone. This is one of the most important issues we face as a moral community. How are we agents of change and transformation for the environment and our own lives? It’s not just one and done, one and done, focusing on individual states of well-being. “Wellbecoming” adds a process framework where we’re always evolving and ultimately getting to a place where we’re aware and able to transcend over time. I am nowhere near perfect, but I am very far along in a journey of understanding how I influence my own being and how my being influences other.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to a new healthcare professional about ethics and building a moral community, what would it be?

Know your North Star. Know what your purpose is and what you came here to achieve. I believe, personally, that I came here to be a force for good and to provide care, compassion, and love to humanity.