From Strategies for Today's Nurse

Health care's core types must work together
By Sharon Seivert

Common solutions to the nursing shortage range from offering nurses better hours to increasing their pay. There is one theory, however, that many managers have yet to address - the notion that archetypal patterns, innate human instincts that prescribe individual and organizational human behavior, play a dominant role in fostering a workplace imbalance. Some experts in the career coaching fields subscribe to what's known as Core Types, the idea that we all carry with- in us 10 colorful "characters" that influence our lives and interactions with others. In health care, they're known as the "Caregiver" and the "Warrior," and they're at war for the soul of health care.

The Caregiver. This part of us wants to do good for others by calming a patient or holding the hand of a man who is dying alone. Caregivers often forget to include themselves in the loop of care, however. This can lead to the loss of big dollars in any business. But alas, in rides the Warrior to the rescue.

The Warrior. This Core Type knows how to whip people and things into shape. In recent years, health care's Warrior-hero has become the manager who institutes changes to save the health care institution from bankruptcy. During the last decade, the Caregiver has given off many warning signals - many have resigned as a result of Warrior-imposed cost-controls such as less staff and increased hours. Since the Warrior and Caregiver work from such different scripts these signals have gone unnoticed, though.

The solution. Helping these one-dimensional archetypes to learn about each other and benefit from each other's wisdom, is key. Alone, neither one holds the answer. When these Core Types combine their strengths, they can provide us with the answers we so desperately need to remedy today's health care crises.