Surviving an infectious disease outbreak: How does nurse calling influence performance during the COVID‐19 fight?

Abstract

Aim To assess the performance of front‐line nurses, who believed they were living out their calling, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Background Although as a profession nursing generally requires high levels of performance, the disruption arising from an infectious disease outbreak increases the work stress and decreases the performance of front‐line nurses. How this situation can be improved has yet to be thoroughly examined. Method We used a snowball sampling technique to recruit 339 nurses who were originally from outside Hubei but volunteered to join medical teams going to Hubei to tackle COVID‐19. Results Drawing on the theory of work as a calling, we found that living a calling had a positive effect on front‐line nurses’ performance through the clinical and relational care they provided. Perceived supervisor support strengthened these mediated relationships. Conclusion Our findings indicate that despite the constraints associated with pandemics, front‐line nurses who are living a calling are able to provide better clinical and relational care to infected patients, which in turn improves their performance. Implications for Nursing Management The findings of this study suggest that hospitals can introduce career educational interventions to enhance nurses’ ability to discern and live out their calling to improve their performance.

Called to Serve: Exploring the Relationship Between Career Calling, Career Plateaus, and Organizational Commitment in the U.S. Military

“…Finally, by examining calling in the context of the U.S. military, we add to the understanding of how calling operates within an "extreme" setting that requires sacrifice, loyalty, and moral duty, central elements of career calling (Bunderson & Thompson, 2009;Zhou et al, 2020). While it may be assumed that most military members, especially those who become officers, would experience strong callings toward their career, we found a mean calling comparable to that of managers and considerable variance.…”

“…First, we provide a foundational view of calling in the active-duty U.S. military, bringing a previously unexplored lens to understand the military experience from the view of personal fulfillment and engagement. Although the military is a specific context, it could shed light on the experience of calling for other people in high-risk first responder roles, like police officers, firefighters, security guards, and even healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (Zhou et al, 2020). Second, we contribute to research on calling by considering a novel career-relevant outcome: perceived content-related career plateaus and their impact on organizational commitment.…”

Registered nurses' perceptions of having a calling to nursing: A mixed‐method study

“…It has also been shown to advance the sense of coherence and study success (Colomer‐Pérez et al, 2019 ). Calling has often been connected to compassion (Carter, 2014 ; Emerson, 2017 ) and to patients' experiences of good care (White, 2002 ) and care quality (Zhou et al, 2021 ).…”

Changes in Nurses’ Sense of Calling During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

“…Indeed, nurses with a calling empathize more effectively with patients and perform their services selflessly with a high level of motivation ( Raatikainen, 1997 ). Research also demonstrates that nurses who view their work as a calling perform at a high level during extraordinary times such as the COVID-19 pandemic ( Zhou et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Research is emerging that targets the role and function of a sense of calling during the pandemic (e.g., Zhou et al, 2021 ), but more is needed to investigate core questions such as how a sense of calling may have changed among employees during this period. Such research, including the present study, aims to shed light on the impact that “critical events” play as healthcare employees in particular navigate a very challenging emotional terrain ( Restubog et al, 2020 ).…”