Ben is a nurse manager who has spent years watching nurses respond to high-pressure situations. One particular emergency reminded him that excellent healthcare work can be difficult to separate into individual skills.

During a shift, one of Ben’s nurses was caring for a patient with multiple serious injuries. The situation changed quickly. The patient needed close attention, physicians were issuing orders, members of the care team needed direction, and the patient’s anxious family wanted to understand what was happening.

The nurse stayed calm. She delegated tasks, communicated with the rest of the medical team, made sure orders were carried out, and continued talking with the family while the team worked to stabilize the patient. What impressed Ben was not any one action. It was her ability to manage all of those responsibilities at the same time.

What makes someone excellent at work when technical expertise is only one part of the job? Can calm, judgment, communication, and compassion be taught in the same way as clinical skills? And how do we prepare people for moments when all of those abilities are needed at once?