Quint Studer explains why nurses can lose connection to their calling and offers practical tips leaders can use to help nurses reconnect to their “why”.
PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES, April 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Nurses enter the profession with a strong sense of purpose—a desire to be useful and helpful, to make a difference, to care for others in meaningful ways. But in today’s healthcare environment, with staffing shortages, rising patient complexity, growing administrative demands, and high levels of burnout, it can be harder to feel that “calling” day-to-day. In other words, right at a time when the work matters more than ever, the meaning that fuels it can begin to get crowded out.
Quint Studer is on a mission to change that—and he says Nurses Week, May 6-12, is a good time for organizations to think about how to reconnect nurses to their calling.
“This is the time of year that we show our appreciation and gratitude for nurses,” notes Studer, author of The Calling: Why Healthcare Is So Special, Second Edition (The Gratitude Group Publishing; ISBN: 978-1-7370789-1-3; $28.00). “That’s a wonderful thing. But what’s even better is helping nurses replenish and reconnect to their calling—when we do this, it can improve their lives all year long.”
Why is it so urgent to reconnect nurses to their calling right now? Studer offers several reasons.
• Work has become more task-heavy and less relational. There’s less time for the one-on-one patient connection that attracted most nurses to the field.
• At times, work can feel transactional. When there’s an intense focus on metrics and key performance indicators, without commensurate emphasis on the “human” side of healthcare, it can overshadow meaning.
• The staff challenges many organizations face can mean less team cohesion (due to reliance on travelers and float staff) as well as less opportunity for mentorship. Both can negatively impact the employee experience as well as quality of care.
• Traditional retention strategies are no longer enough. Compensation and perks matter to nurses, but they also crave a sense of meaning and purpose and a strong relationship with leaders. If healthcare leaders want nurses to stay, they need to make sure nurses are feeling those things.
“There’s a solid business case for helping nurses reconnect to their calling,” notes Studer. When that sense of purpose declines, engagement, retention, and patient experience follow.
Yes, reconnecting nurses to their calling is a tall order for a single week. But Nurses Week is a good “reset” moment for leaders to get intentional about doing so. Just remember, says Studer, that reconnection is not so much about messaging as it is about establishing some consistent daily leadership behaviors.
Here, he shares a few practical steps leaders can take during Nurses Week and beyond. For example:
• Ask questions that reconnect people to meaning. For example: Why did you choose this profession? What made a difference today? What are you most proud of about your work? Asking questions like these is a great way to kick off meetings and huddles. When people get in touch with that crucial sense of meaning and purpose, it can shift moods and reset the tone for the whole day.
• Make daily “deposits” in the emotional bank account. For example, say thank you. Offer specific, timely recognition and connect it to the impact it had on a patient, family, or team. Do these things as often as possible. People enter healthcare with a full emotional bank account, and it gets depleted over time. The more deposits made the better.
• Tell stories that reinforce purpose. Studer emphasizes the power of storytelling—The Calling is filled with real examples of everyday moments where caregivers make a difference. Sharing these kinds of stories during huddles, meetings, and rounding helps bring the purpose of the work back into focus, reminds teams why it matters, and helps them connect the dots on the impact of their care.
• Remove one barrier this week. Studer often talks about the importance of removing the “pebbles in the shoe”—the small frustrations and inefficiencies that wear people down over time. Identifying and addressing even one of these barriers shows nurses that leaders are listening and willing to act, making it easier for them to do their work and stay connected to why it matters.
• Close the loop on feedback. When nurses share concerns or ideas, follow through and communicate what was done as a result. Even small actions build trust and reinforce that their voice matters…which in turn makes it easier to stay connected to the purpose behind their work.
“Nurses Week is a meaningful time to say thank you, but the best way to honor nurses is to make their work lives better,” says Studer. “It’s a chance for leaders to move beyond appreciation and begin creating the kind of environment where nurses can reconnect to their calling every day.”
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About the Author:
Quint Studer is a lifelong student of leadership. He has a gift for translating complex strategies into doable behaviors that allow organizations to achieve long-term success. Quint is cofounder of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group® and received the 2025 Baldrige Foundation Leadership Excellence Award in the healthcare sector. Quint is the author of 16 books, beginning with his first title, BusinessWeek bestseller Hardwiring Excellence: Purpose, Worthwhile Work, Making a Difference. People notice quickly that Quint’s words and tools come from what he enjoys the most: being in the hallways and rooms of healthcare. Three of his most recent books are a trilogy: The Calling: Why Healthcare Is So Special is about replenishment, Rewiring Excellence: Hardwired to Rewired provides tools and techniques that are doable, and The Human Margin: Building the Foundations of Trust shares ways to build trust.
About the Book:
The Calling: Why Healthcare Is So Special, Second Edition (The Gratitude Group Publishing; ISBN: 978-1-7370789-1-3; $28.00) is available at HealthcarePlusSG.com/Resource/Books/.
Dottie DeHart
DH&C
dottie@dehartandcompany.com
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