A Nurse Gotta Do What a Nurse Gotta Do

Striking for the Future of Nursing, Self-Preservation, and Humanity

By Dr. Rachel Hill

Nurses are often seen as the unwavering backbone of healthcare, embodying compassion, resilience, and an almost superhuman capacity for self-sacrifice.

They take an oath—a sacred vow to care for the sick and vulnerable—often extending far beyond the traditional “in sickness and in health” commitment.

This professional dedication, while noble, has historically come at a profound personal cost.

The expectation of boundless giving, coupled with systemic pressures, has pushed the nursing profession to a critical juncture where individual self-preservation has become inextricably linked to the future of healthcare itself.

For too long, the narrative surrounding nursing has focused solely on the altruistic caregiver, overlooking the human being beneath the scrubs.

This oversight has contributed to a culture where nurses are expected to endure unsafe staffing levels, inadequate resources, and relentless emotional and physical demands without complaint.

The consequence? Widespread burnout, moral injury, and a growing exodus from a profession that desperately needs its dedicated practitioners.

The "Bad Marriage" of Healthcare

There is a persistent and often biting criticism directed at nurses who choose to stand up for themselves.

Critics ask, “How dare they do what is best for them when there are growing populations of people in poor health who require care?”

This guilt-tripping narrative is a form of emotional manipulation that nurses have navigated for generations.

I liken this dynamic to a bad marriage—one where a partner tries to stay “for the children” despite a lack of respect, honor, or genuine meaning in the relationship.

In such a marriage, there is a price to pay either way. If you leave, there is disruption and pain.

But what is the price of staying?

What is the cost of remaining in a relationship that doesn’t respect or honor you in ways that are genuine and meaningful to sustain your well-being?

For hundreds of years, the nursing profession has collectively been the “doormat” of healthcare.

While not every individual in the profession is a doormat, the collective has figuratively taken hit after hit after hit.

We have been conditioned to say “yes” to anything offered, to absorb the systemic failures of the institution, and to carry the weight of a broken system on our shoulders.

When Saying "No" Means "No"

Just as a partner eventually realizes that staying in a toxic environment serves no one—not even the children—nurses are realizing that staying in an unsustainable system serves no one—not even the patients.

What happens to one happens to all.

The price of staying in a “marriage” with a healthcare system that devalues our humanity is the total erosion of the profession itself.

To suggest that nurses should prioritize their own well-being might, at first glance, seem counterintuitive to the very essence of their calling.

However, a deeper ethical consideration reveals that self-preservation is not selfish; it is a fundamental prerequisite for effective and compassionate care.

A burnt-out, emotionally depleted, or physically exhausted nurse cannot provide the optimal level of care that patients deserve.

In fact, neglecting the well-being of nurses is an ethical failure of the healthcare system itself.

Striking as an Ethical Declaration

The concept of “self-preservation” in nursing extends beyond individual self-care practices, though these are undoubtedly crucial.

It encompasses the right to a safe working environment, fair compensation, reasonable workloads, and adequate support systems.

When these fundamental rights are consistently denied, nurses are left with a stark choice: continue to sacrifice their own health and integrity, or take a stand.

This is where the act of striking emerges not as a last resort, but as an ethical declaration—a collective assertion of the right to self-preservation.

When nurses strike, it is rarely a decision taken lightly.

It is often the culmination of prolonged frustration, ignored pleas, and a desperate attempt to rectify systemic failures that directly jeopardize patient safety and nurse well-being.

The Realities Behind the Strike

The reasons for nursing strikes are multifaceted, but consistently revolve around critical issues:

• Unsafe Staffing Levels: Chronic understaffing forces nurses to care for too many patients, increasing the risk of errors.
• Burnout and Moral Injury: The inability to provide the care they know patients need leads to profound emotional distress.
• Wage Stagnation: Despite the critical nature of their work, wages often fail to reflect the immense skill and responsibility involved.
• Unsafe Work Environments: This includes physical safety from violence and psychological safety from reprisal.

Strikes are a collective assertion of the nurse’s directive, a refusal to allow systemic failures to compromise both their well-being and the quality of patient care.

The ethical tension of a strike—the temporary disruption of care for a long-term gain in safety and quality—is a heavy burden, but one borne out of a deep commitment to the future of healthcare.

Raising the Vibration of Healthcare

The principles of quantum healing, particularly the practice of “noticing and thanking,” offer a powerful lens through which to understand the transformative potential of collective nursing advocacy.

In quantum healing, resistance creates persistence; when we fight a condition, we give it more energy.

Instead, we are taught to notice, thank, and release, thereby shifting the energetic frequency of a situation.

This framework can be applied to the collective health of the nursing profession.

It begins with individual nurses “noticing” the unsustainable conditions—the chronic understaffing, the inadequate resources, the moral injury.

They “thank” their professional conscience for alerting them to these injustices, refusing to normalize what is clearly detrimental.

Then, they collectively “release” the fear of reprisal and the ingrained culture of self-sacrifice, choosing instead to stand together.

A Quantum Leap in Consciousness

This collective act of noticing, thanking, and releasing creates a powerful energetic shift.

It’s a quantum leap in consciousness for the profession, radiating outward to impact hospital administrations, policymakers, and the public.

We must recognize that we are in a pivotal moment of history. Dynasties rise and fall. Nature expands and contracts.

The current nursing strike is a clear sign of expansion—a “freeing” of the collective spirit and an effort for a career to thrive beyond merely surviving.

It doesn’t matter that nursing said “yes” for all those years to anything that was offered. That was a different phase of the cycle.

We are now in the phase of contraction of the old ways and expansion into the new.

So for today, it is a firm, hard, bold “HELL NO!!!”

For the Future of Humanity

The phrase “A nurse gotta do what a nurse has to do” encapsulates a profound truth.

It speaks to the unwavering dedication, the ethical imperative, and the deep sense of responsibility that defines the nursing profession.

Striking for the future of nursing is not an act of abandonment; it is an act of profound commitment.

It is a commitment to a healthcare system that values its caregivers as much as its patients.

When nurses take a stand, they are walking by faith, not by sight, believing in a better future for their profession and for the patients they serve.

Key Takeaways for the Nurse’s Imperative

• Self-Preservation is Ethical: Prioritizing well-being is essential for providing quality care.
• The Price of Staying: Remaining in a disrespectful system has a higher long-term cost than a temporary strike.
• Expansion vs. Survival: The strike is a sign of the profession’s effort to thrive rather than just survive.
• Saying No Means No: Past compliance does not mandate future submission.
• Future of Humanity: A healthy nursing profession is fundamental to the health of society.

YOU CAN NURSE TILL YOU DIE, BUT DON’T NURSE TILL IT KILLS YOU!

The nursing profession is going through metamorphosis. Right now we are in our cocoons, and that is not an easy place to be.

The current struggles are not an end but a necessary phase of transformation.

From this period of breakdown, a new kind of nurse is poised to emerge—one who is not only a caregiver but also an empowered, authentic, and healthy advocate.

--Dr. Rachel