Leah, a 22-year-old senior nursing student, first became interested in nursing after watching hospice nurses care for her grandfather. As graduation approaches, she is beginning to understand just how much that kind of care asks of the person providing it.

When Leah was younger, her grandfather received hospice care at home. She remembers how much the nurses and technicians affected the entire experience. They could not change what was happening to him, but the best of them made a frightening and painful time feel more manageable for Leah’s grandfather and for everyone who loved him. Years later, when Leah chose nursing, that was the kind of difference she hoped to make for someone else.

Now, near the end of nursing school, Leah’s picture of the profession is more complicated. She has learned about medication errors, patient deaths, difficult coworkers, long shifts, and the challenge of leaving the emotional weight of the job at work. She still wants to become a nurse, but she realizes that caring deeply for patients is both part of what makes the work meaningful and part of what can make it difficult to sustain.

What helps people hold onto the purpose that brought them into a profession? How can healthcare workers care deeply without becoming overwhelmed by the work? And what responsibility do schools and employers have for helping them learn how?