Stories about The Walking Wounded and The Wounded Healer (302)

Suffering is part of the human experience. Bearing witness to the suffering of others compounds this very human experience. The wounds that hurt, however, are the wounds that heal self and other but only when we take the time to acknowledge, metabolize and transcend them.

Nurses are leaving the profession in droves, jaded, burnt out, and existentially dissatisfied. The world is in the throes of a great transition. The old models, institutions and mindsets no longer serve (if they ever did) and as a profession we stand at the threshold of a new world order, for healthcare and society at large.

In this liminal space we are invited to tease apart what it means to be the walking wounded and become the wounded healer. We are being summoned to co-create a new world view of what it is to be/become a nurse. We no longer need to suffer in silence but embrace what we have always known.

We are greater than the sum of our parts, individually and collectively, and this deep knowing of this irrefutable truth compels us to act. To re-unite our fragmented relationships with each other and those we serve we must reconnect with our true self, our sacred self and rediscover our shared humanity. Personal and professional healing begins with self-reflection and recognition culminating in deep transformation as we transcend the suffering of self, each other, and the planet at large.