Janette V. Moreno

Introduction: Camp Aruga is a culturally grounded leadership bootcamp, integrating Filipino values, reflective dialogue, and Watson Caring Science ^® to foster leadership, resilience, and self-care among Filipino American nurses. This evaluation examined pre- to post-program changes in leadership goals and Caring Science outcomes in Fall 2025. Methods: A pre–post design with surveys before and within 48 hr after the 2-day bootcamp. Of 48 attendees, 41 completed the pre-survey, 33 the post-survey, 26 matched leadership responses, and 25 Watson Caritas Self-Rating Score ^® items. Outcomes included four leadership items (unity, governance, engagement/resilience, health equity advocacy) and five Watson Caritas items. Results: Among matched leaders, high achievement rose for all four goals; Caritas scores increased for all five items, with gains in loving-kindness toward self and self-care and in helping–trusting relationships, caring environments, and spirituality. Discussion: A Caring Science–informed framework may boost leadership confidence and self-care; longer-term studies are warranted to assess sustained effects.

Cedars-Sinai is a sixth continuous Magnet organization in Southern California that embodies inclusive leadership in support of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) principles. The organization adheres to a strategic model prioritizing staff sense of belonging, empowerment, engagement, curiosity, and creativity. Employing inclusive leadership, we have implemented strong programs of professional development and continuous learning, innovation, and research. This leadership and these programs have fostered a culture of inquiry, support evidence-driven practice, quality improvement, and staff engagement. Our organization is committed to creating a caring and healing environment that promotes performance. We believe in practicing loving-kindness toward ourselves and others as a core value. Executive leadership support has been a key element in our successful implementation of DEIJ strategies, including employee resource groups, Shared Leadership Councils, transition to practice programs, health equity research, and innovative solutions. These strategies have been shown to yield a significant return on investment.

Purpose: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global human caring crisis, this article describes an innovative, theory-guided, holistic practice project at a major academic medical center in Northern California. The purpose of this theory-guided COVID-19 project was to address the self-care needs of caregivers so they could better care for patients/families who are confronting daily pandemic demands. Study design: The organization's professional practices are guided by Watson's theory of human caring and Caritas Processes. This setting has 16 Caritas Coaches® who have acquired expertise in human caring from an accredited program of the Watson Caring Science Institute ( www.watsoncaringscience.org ). Methods: Caritas Coaches® were mobilized to implement holistic caring–healing modalities such as aromatherapy and mindfulness meditation throughout the organization. Findings: By addressing the self-care needs of caregivers, the organizational culture shifted from fear, fatigue, stress, and burnout, to more intentional conscious, mindful, caring presence, gratitude, and purpose. Conclusion: This study has implications for other institutions regarding theory-guided practice and system responses to self-care needs of staff. This study provides an overview of the project from its origin to implementation and outcomes.