I'm not so sure that being compassionate excludes calm, somewhat emotionally detached decison-making. I think that nurses need to find a balance between being able to empathise with patients and be responsive to their emotional needs alongside the more fact-based clinical reasoning. Surely, in the end, it's about knowing how to treat people as people and not "conditions in a bed". Some of the best nurses I know do this juggling act incredibly skilfully and seemingly without effort, but no doubt they are paddling furiously under the surface. Then, there are some nurses who are incredibly compassionate with patients but pay less attention to the emotional needs of their colleagues.
In my recent work on trust as revealed by the mentors in my PhD study, I had a glimpse into just how complex all of this is. Trust is essential for cooperative teamwork. Nurses want and need to be trusted both by their patients and their colleagues - and although trust judgements are partly made in terms of cold facts ( can I rely on this person to do the job properly?), trust is also about emotional connections with people (if I reveal my personal or professional vulnerability, will this person respect that and respond appropriately?). Psychological safety is crucial if nurses are to maintain a no-blame culture and learn from clinical mistakes. The less trust there is in the workplace, the more errors and near-misses will be swept under the carpet and the system will struggle to improve.
