Validation, the Caregiver’s Quiet Weight, and the Courage to Speak Up
December is a reflective month.
For many clinicians, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, it’s also a heavy one.
We talk a lot about resilience in healthcare but we don’t talk enough about validation.
Not praise.
Not recognition.
But the deep reassurance that says: “You did the right thing. You’re not imagining this. You’re allowed to speak.”
Every caregiver, every clinician, carries a younger version of themselves into the room. A part that learned early that reassurance equals safety. That being heard can mean the difference between confidence and doubt.
Needing validation does not mean you are weak.
It means you are human.
When Validation Goes Unchecked in Healthcare
Unchecked feelings don’t disappear with experience or credentials.
They accumulate.
In healthcare, that can look like:
• Hesitation
• Silence
• Second-guessing intuition
• Fear of being “wrong”
• Fear of asking for help
And sometimes, when insecurity isn’t addressed, it spills outward into defensiveness, hierarchy, or dismissal of others’ concerns.
That doesn’t make someone a bad clinician.
It makes them a clinician who was never given permission to say, “I need support too.”
At Eyes of Sepsis™, we say this clearly:
Speaking up is not insubordination.
It is patient advocacy.
There are moments when a patient cannot speak for themselves.
There are moments when families are unsure.
There are moments when the signs are subtle, quiet, almost whispering.
That’s when your voice matters most.
That whisper inside you the one that says “Something isn’t right” is not fear.
It is awareness.
CRUSH 33™: Let the Tools Speak With You
You do not have to carry this alone.
CRUSH 33™ exists to validate what you’re seeing when time matters most.
• Call it early
• Rush cultures, vitals, labs
• Use the protocol
• Speak up, speak fast
• Hold the clock accountable
is not about blame.
It’s about support.
It gives language to your concern.
Structure to your instinct.
Protection to your advocacy.
And most importantly it speaks for patients who cannot speak for themselves.
The Whisper to Shout Moment in Care
The whisper is noticing.
The shout is action.
The shout doesn’t have to be loud.
Sometimes it’s simply making the call.
Asking the question.
Activating the protocol.
Requesting help.
If you are a caregiver or clinician reading this:
I hear you.
You are allowed to ask for help.
You are allowed to learn new tools.
You are allowed to say, “I need backup.”
That is how lives are saved.
Not on our watch.
Not in our silence.