05/07/2026
Leadership isn't about being the loudest person in the room. It's about protecting, guiding, and developing those who are learning.
A few weeks ago, an incident occurred between an intern nurse and another healthcare professional.
The intern had taken a patient's vital signs, but the healthcare professional wasn't satisfied with the readings and began criticizing the intern.
I stepped in.
I calmly said, if you're not comfortable with the readings, please assess the patient yourself.
He did. After taking the patient's vital signs, I compared his findings with those of the intern nurse. They were almost identical.
I then asked him to apologize to the intern nurse, and to his credit, he did.
Later, the intern thanked me for standing up for her.
I told her something I strongly believe:
As your senior, my responsibility is to support you, not embarrass you. Even if you make a mistake, I will never humilate you in front of others. I'll protect your dignity first, then we'll discuss the mistake privately so you can learn from it.
Correcting someone publicly often creates fear. Coaching them privately builds confidence, trust, and competence.
Our interns, student nurses, junior colleagues, and newly qualified staff are not just part of today's workforce they are the future of our profession. The way we treat them today will shape the kind of healthcare professionals they become tomorrow.
Leadership is not measured by how much authority you have. It is measured by how safe people feel when they work and learn around you.
Let's create workplaces where people are corrected with respect, mentored with patience, and treated with dignity.