Explanation of MetaCare: a Caregiver for Caregivers. It’s time for a new kind of nurse that helps alleviate compassion fatigue and addresses vicarious trauma in the workplace.

Even before Covid, our healthcare providers were in trouble. Mental health issues were on the rise, job satisfaction was falling, and risk for burnout was rising (1). The system that taught us how to heal had neglected to teach us how to care for and heal ourselves. We deserve better and as a healthcare family, we can do better.

The best mantras are short, pithy, and easily repeated. Two of my favorite personal mantras are "misery is optional" abbreviated from a quote by Tim Hansel and "flow like water" derived from the aforementioned quote by Taoist master Lao Tzu. I have repeated these words so many times over the years and they have kept me from wandering the mirrored mazes of my mind.

We all need a cheerleader or a hype man. The hype man is the individual who is responsible for keeping the momentum of a show going, motivating the artist, and pumping up the enthusiasm of the crowd. He or she functions like an emotional barometer, constantly evaluating the feel of the environment and injecting energy into lulls and adding exclamation points to the performance.