In 2021, the control of wellbeing at the tail of a global pandemic made sense. How can we manage our personal worlds after so much change? How do we find meaning? How do we do the hard work of perspective change?

Prior to the pandemic, we already were bringing the idea of wellbeing into our healthcare worlds. “I think every organization needs a chief wellness officer,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, in a 2018 interview with Julie Cullen, managing editor of American Nurse Journal. The attention to caregivers’ wellbeing shifted our perspectives about caring and healing. The foundation of a new way of being was being built.

Organizations and institutions need a leader focused on the wellness and wellbeing of the whole. After the pandemic, it was clear that every one of us needs a personal “chief wellness officer.” We’re all part of that whole. As nurses, we have the knowledge and skills to be our own chief wellness officer, to be our own nurse.

Role models can come from many people: 2024 Olympians, Daisy Award winners, anyone who has overcome a challenge, and even our newest nurses. When we gain knowledge, skills, and perspectives from outside ourselves, it’s up to us to discern what fits into our personal and professional lives. We can be our own role models. We do have what it takes to support ourselves through change. We deserve the outcomes of our efforts. We are our own nurse.

Amy E. Rettig, DNP, MALM, MSN, BSN, RN, ACNS-BC, PMHNP-BC, provides nursing care for both professional and non-professional caregivers. She presents, publishes and studies well-being (developing the caregiver within) from the perspectives of holism, caring relationships, and systems.