I took an anthropology class my freshman year of college and to be honest, I didn’t do very well. In my defense, it was Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 a.m. And I really didn’t feel like it was at all relevant to becoming a nurse. At the time, I remember thinking, Why am I here? What does this have to do with anything I want to do in nursing? Funny enough, nearly 25 years later, it’s resurfaced in a recent podcast episode.  

Anthropology is the study of human behavior. How people live, work, and survive together. I remember learning about tribes, shared resources, and how people historically gathered around “watering holes.” What I didn’t appreciate then (but do now) is how clearly anthropology teaches us that humans are biologically wired to live, work, and survive in groups. Without connection to other humans, survival is difficult if not impossible. While society has evolved dramatically, our biology hasn’t. At our most basic level, we are still wired for connection.

Ironically, we live in a time when connection looks abundant. We’re “friends” on Facebook, connected on LinkedIn, commenting, reacting, and scrolling. And yet, loneliness continues to rise. The U.S. Surgeon General has named loneliness a public health crisis, linking it to physical illness, mental health concerns, and even early mortality. In the workplace, loneliness is also a known predictor of burnout and turnover.

If loneliness is at epidemic levels, and if it contributes to burnout, turnover, and declining health, it’s worth asking why we so rarely address it where so many adults spend the majority of their time…at work. We talk about loneliness as a societal issue, but rarely acknowledge how it shows up within our teams, units, and organizations.  

In this month’s Beyond Nurse Residency conversation, we explored social connectedness, the presence of genuine, reciprocal relationships, as the inverse of loneliness. It’s from connectedness that a sense of belonging emerges. And when people feel known, included, and valued, they’re far more likely to invest their energy, creativity, and commitment in the group they belong to. And ultimately, that’s what organizations are trying to achieve.

We know this matters at any career stage, but it is especially important during transitions. Transitions disrupt everything: identity, competence, confidence, relationships. Whether someone is a student becoming a new graduate, a nurse stepping into a new role, or a leader taking on new responsibilities, those experiences are when people are most vulnerable to feeling isolated and lonely. Nurse residency programs do an excellent job providing structure. But structure alone doesn’t create belonging. Belonging comes from relationships. And relationships require time.

The challenge is that our system isn’t designed to value the kind of time where connection actually happens. In healthcare, we have built environments that prioritize productivity, efficiency, and measurable outputs. Staffing units, keeping beds open, moving patient care forward.  Time not directly tied to tasks, documentation, or throughput is often thought of as non‑productive. And yet, that “non‑productive” time is where connection lives.  

It’s the informal check-in before a meeting starts. The conversation after a tough shift. The space to reflect, debrief, and ask questions. Education, committee work, shared governance, mentorship, conferences, networking…these are often the first things cut. Yet they’re also where nurses begin to feel like they belong. Like they’re part of something bigger than their assignment for the day. When systems eliminate that time, the outcomes of loneliness shouldn’t surprise us.  

Nurse residency programs are a powerful tool. They create structure, offer support during critical transitions, and send the important message that you’re not expected to figure this out alone. But for that investment to truly pay off, this same message must also be reflected in practice. When nurses step into practice environments that don’t make similar space for relationship building, mentorship, and shared meaning, the message changes and the outcomes result in loneliness. And as we said before, loneliness snowballs into burnout and eventually turnover.

I encourage you to give this month’s podcast a listen. We explored this idea more deeply, including practical strategies for nurse leaders and nursing professional development specialists to build connection and belonging at work. 

Listen to the episode with Dr. Jihane Frangieh

Nicole Weathers, DNP, RN, NPD-BC 
Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program Director 
nicole-weathers@uiowa.edu
Wanting a Program Overview? Need to schedule a meeting? Book time with Nicole 
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