Slow down, get close, and be amazed

During Sigma’s Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE) conference, I had the opportunity to give the closing keynote. I asked the audience to think about these three, simple things: What are ways we, as professional nurses, can slow down, get close, and be amazed? I’ve realized during my 16-year career as a nurse, they are not always that easy to do.   

For those of us who live in the United States, our country does not encourage us to slow down. Culturally, workaholism and overachievement, while undervaluing oneself, are common. We often work in jobs that want us to do more, more, more, and go, go, go. We’re praised for not taking our lunches or going the extra mile. Every. Shift.

As nurses, healers, and members of the best profession on the planet, we know that we are at a very high risk for burnout. Research keeps telling us that, and evidence from 2023 frighteningly shows that nurses are at an extremely high risk of suicidality when compared to the rest of the US population. All this going non-stop wears us out. It can even kill us. As I write this piece, I’m saddened to learn about a fellow nurse from my home state of Georgia, who got in a severe car accident while driving home after working an overnight shift. She was pushing too hard, working on teams that made her do more, and now she’s caused irreparable harm to herself and another driver.

So, what if we slowed down? What if we turned off social media for a while, and took a mental break? The evidence is super clear that when we slow down, we can think differently, act differently, and ultimately make better choices for our lives. Our stress levels decrease; inflammation in our bodies goes down; and when we slow down, we’re far less likely to make a critical error at work. Social media feeds a sense of “accelerate or lose out” in our lives. It’s a key cause of the fear of missing out that makes us believe that everyone else around us has more, is doing more, and is happier, when that’s not true at all. Even more concerning is that most younger people now get their news from social media. Complex global events are force-fed to us in 20-second sound bites. So, not only are we getting way too much information, but we’re also getting it in such an incomplete and biased way it’s hard to know which way is up sometimes. Thus, we need to shut off the screens and slow our minds.

When we can slow down, we then have the opportunity to get close. We can see what’s really going on. With the current political climate, I witness a flood of chaotic news coming our way on the TV, radio, and of course in our devices. When our brains are flooded with information, ever-changing policies, and fear-induced leadership that makes us more and more divided from our local and global neighbors, we cannot make good decisions. Getting close helps us see the truth of what is happening in this world. Getting close also helps us connect, importantly, with our own personal truths. When we connect with ourselves and other people, we can reflect on our shared, global, mission as nurses—to be healers.

When we slow down and get close, we can see the humanity in everyone, no matter who they are, where they are from, or what views they have. When we slow down and get close, we have the ability to be more compassionate. And science tells us that practicing compassion is great for our self-care. It’s also fantastic for community care!

First, we slow down, then we get close, and then we have the opportunity to “be amazed.” What’s super cool about amazement is that research suggests that the more you experience amazement—like slowing down to watch a sunrise or sunset, experiencing a slow meal with a friend, watching young children play, or witnessing the ways that you and your team can help so many patients each day—that the feelings of amazement can actually extend your life. Feeling amazement strengthens the telomeres of your genes; these genetic building blocks are indicators of how long your life may be based on their strength and size. You can help them grow when you feel amazement!

The books I’ve co-authored on self-care, community care, and well-being center around these ideas of slowing down, getting closer—which is to say paying attention—and just feeling better about things.

Things are tough in this world right now and things continue to be tough in healthcare. We have the tools to enhance our compassion and we have a calling to do so. The 2025, newly published nursing code of ethics demands that we honor ourselves, respect ourselves, and find innovative ways to advocate for others. You can hear themes of “slow down and get close” throughout the document. We’re called to treat all people with dignity and the humanity they deserve, no matter their background. We’re also called in the ANA Code of Ethics to be amazed by the great diversity of this country and to celebrate it, recognizing that we all thrive when we support each other.

As nurses, we have the solemn duty to offer healing to the world, to everyone. That can feel like a lot. Even when feeling overwhelmed, we still have the power to “slow down, get close, and be amazed.” Nursing is and will always be the best profession on the planet. We have a lot to do, so let’s get busy! We’ll begin this hard work by first, slowing down.