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Leadership: A Need for God
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One of the things in life that I appreciate is the ability for an individual to care for others as much as one cares for themselves. I consider myself to have obtained this ability to want to care for others, which has prompted me to want to enter the profession I am studying for, nursing. I also am very devoted to my faith and beliefs in God, which compliments a sense of wanting others to reach the same level of happiness and understanding as my own. I believe that nurses have a huge responsibility, but also have a dignifying role to care for others and make decisions for a patient’s well-being. For me, caring to share my faith and devotion to God with patients as I enter my future profession as a nurse is important. Patients require support and committed care, making it critical for nurses to have this similar mentality to properly promote positive health outcomes, even holistically. I will be providing care but also applying my faith-based practice.
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My participation in research has provided me with a sense that my willingness to serve God by instructing others with their health and especially faith. The research conducted with Dr. Courtney Catledge was an opportunity that I decided to participate in to become more involved as a student. Through my participation, I was able to demonstrate independence after instruction and became more comfortable contributing to not just the project, but expanding my experience as a student. This is an example that trusting in God and my knowledge allows me to be comfortable with His guidance to serve independently, especially as a future nurse. Serving for the community alone also reflects that research can be incorporated with follow ups after the initial information we provided to the Lancaster community regarding carbon monoxide poisoning. This experience was beneficial for a couple reasons, first, that research can have service components and follow up implications to help instruct others. Secondly, the service was an opportunity to help make other’s lives more important than my own and acting as a caring individual, which nurses must do. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something that will be mandatory because as a nurse I will be introduced to many stressful situations and patients. The willingness to utilize faith and God through these occurrences is exactly expressing how God can come into effect. God will bless those that sometimes step outside their own boundaries and place their faith in Him, no matter the situation or problem. This is very applicable to patients and their need to recognize that He is in control and will have His preordained plan made complete.
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Problem: Lack of faith-based practices in health care setting
A recurring global issue that I see is that many people in the world today seem to not have a desire or use for God and places like the hospital are where the presence of God thrives. There seems to be an ongoing dismissal of any hope in God, any respect to most authority, among many attitudes in society that overshadow God’s power. These attitudes represent a form of self-righteousness which illustrates a void that should be slotted for God is replaced by countless things. The current problem that seems to be present is the fact that many people do not seem to understand that God is in control and there a mindset that individuals control their own destiny. It almost seems like the world revolves around self. When patients enter the hospital the need for support and care is treasured so greatly, God allows this system of care to be put in place for patients. This then substantiates the fact that patients are in a need to recognize the abilities and care God shows. Nurses are some of the blessings that God has given hospitals to develop relationships with and work with to improve patient health and well-being. I believe that many who are confused and cannot seem to find answers look for the wrong people or places. I believe there is a large need for nurses that can utilize their faith and overall make patients live have more worth and meaning.
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Lack of personal care, beliefs, and practices has led to societal destruction. This negative perception is how I view society today and I believe it is connected to an ongoing need to implement changes in a health care setting. This also presents another example of how many people do not recognize certain needs to take care of themselves properly. There are many reasons that contribute to people not to take initiative in their health. Certain outcomes are inevitable, but many illnesses and diseases can derive from unhealthy habits. Mentally, many patients can suffer tremendous grief from having illnesses and feelings of hopelessness. A hospital is a place that patients go to for assistance physically and even for emotional support. Many patients with chronic illnesses or tragic health conditions can really challenge their own spiritual beliefs. These beliefs may have had foundation in a certain faith or perhaps the patient has never shown any spiritual beliefs at all. The patients who may not have any beliefs or seem extremely confused on their faith can truly be assisted with a voice that shows care for their spiritual health as well. These two examples are a sharp contrast seemingly, but they all share a common theme, leadership and initiative from a religious guidance. There is an overwhelming need for spiritual guidance and knowledge that nurses can assist patients physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The ability to serve the patients who are vulnerable to illness and pain, both physical and emotional, can become a priority for a nurse. This priority comes with a mindset to utilize faith in providing care. Hospitals can be a place where God allows miracles to happen per His will.
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Acknowledging the importance of faith in the hospital systems can contribute to confident decision-making, strong patient-nurse relationships, and positive health outcome occurrences. Investigating how nurses feel displaying faith to patients can present a new approach for nurses to utilize their practice in improving their patient’s overall care. Potentially, a new perspective to bring forth faith teachings and counseling can allow patients to have a better satisfaction with their hospital stays and care from their nurses. When I completed the research-based survey assignment, “Early Messages,” discussed in my third key insight, “When We are Weak, He is Strong,” I realized that this issue involving a lack of faith or true knowledge can be seen in hospitals. This is similar to the lack of knowledge or basis of beliefs that some of the respondents to the questionnaire regarding how they originally learned of sex. Some people may have learned about sex in many ways and have misled perceptions when they were younger, which is directly related to how adolescents viewed their beliefs of God. While many older patients may not experience the cognitive learning and face challenges of perception like the adolescents, I still see a common perception where life becomes difficult and some patients challenge their faith. This is why the need of the nurse to take an initiative in caring to instruct a patient who may challenge their beliefs becomes apparent.
The creation of a nursing organization within hospital systems that promotes faith-based health care could be the foundation for a new approach. The nurses who choose to be a part of these organizations can practice with techniques that allow themselves to use their faith teachings as ways to improve holistic care and patient-nurse relationships. This illustrates how a leader like a nurse, with strong faith, can serve and cooperate making the patients’ lives have better health and spiritual outcomes.
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General Recommendations and Solutions: Implement faith-based nursing practices in healthcare
It seems relatively simple to just say that someone needs to hear about God and understand the purpose to have Him involved in their life. As someone who had similar perceptions to those without faith, I try to incorporate my perspective of how I seen the world to relate to how those that lack faith believe. It can seem to be individualized to how each person determines when and why they need God, but in reality it is simply because He is the way. This way is how life becomes more meaningful and how we becomes more understanding of why things occur. Becoming a leader through faith-based practicing can truly contribute to spiritual well-being to those who share similar beliefs but are distraught, like some patients may be. I would think any nurse who shares my faith and acts upon their job as a believer to present the good news God promises us, can be a true leader. This can lead to better patient outcomes. In regard to generalized sense of the worldly beliefs the same need applies. I approach the world as a leader through using my faith as a testimony to others. Health care settings are mightily valuable places to use faith. My ability as a leader to stand up for my faith and attempt to implement these practices is my dream. The ability for people make decisions based on their own personal satisfaction is understandable, but the basis for their decisions may be flawed in regards to involving God with such decisions. The overriding goal of following close to God is the focus and being able to apply faith to practice in healthcare can be very critical when these patients are need.
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I have an understanding that chaplains are always available (presumably by request) at the hospitals, but am unsure if these are only utilized for those who may be going through end-of-life care. As a future nurse, I can develop patient-nurse relationships allow me to utilize my faith in every meeting and interaction. Implementing a more organized group or coalition for nurses at the hospitals to have meetings or teachings of faith-based practice can be incredibly important. This would be something I would ecstatic if it were to be implemented nationwide, where nurses have an opportunity to have an organization at the hospital, potentially outside as well to discuss new ways to revolutionize care through faith teachings. Hospitals like Carolinas Medical Center (CMC), Piedmont Medical Center (PMC), and Springs Memorial Hospital (SMH) are all local hospitals where I could potentially employ and would love to see this get started. One potential challenge that I could face in this suggestion is that many hospitals may see this as limiting the patients to feeling forced to believe the way a nurse does. If a patient were to have nothing to believe in however, is it justifiable allowing them to have no hope? This could not possibly lead to a good outcome for the patient. I believe this idea parallels my experience with the teenagers that I speak with at the Christian summer camp. This translates to my care for patients to reach satisfactory goals and decisions on beliefs because I care immensely for the patient’s spiritual conditions. I believe that from my own experiences from the teachings in the Psychology 420 and the Nursing 220 courses combined offer explanations for how to view the issues of challenging faith. One of the abilities to have faith and have a foundation for understanding why things happen in the manner they do is important. This is something that nurses with faith can introduce and instruct patients on so that they will not challenge beliefs that lead to a broken relationship with God. Having an absence of hope also is something that patients can experience. Misconceptions also are evident with faith in relation to the examples with the Early Messages assignment. My service to the camp and assisting the teens with spiritual guidance is an example that someone can be a leader and make that leap of faith to assist others spiritually. Even based on my experience with the Lancaster community was a way to go to strangers and show care to explain to them some of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning with care to make a difference.
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One of the recommendations that could be implemented in the hospital system, which is where this is directed, is to have a group or organization on clinical site that is faith-based. This offers religious teaching and approaches to making the patients who may be in severe need have an opportunity to discuss faith and gain comfort through holistic care. Typical practice is supporting the patient-based on their own beliefs and wishes. This is perfectly fine, but for patients who are struggling mightily with their health and may have depression, psychological needs, the desire for answers, questions or regrets in life, there is a need to get spiritual guidance. A nurse can be defined as a true leader, but a spiritual leader is one that takes in consideration the spiritual condition of the patient as well. I believe that even implementing a counseling class that allows nurses with these similar ideals could instruct and identify how to approach patients appropriately (if there is a patient of a different faith, for example). For nurses that don’t follow a faith or religious belief system, there could be a network to get another nurse to assist if the patient requested spiritual guidance.
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Detailed Plans: Gaining Traction with the NCF
Implementing this main idea will have certain challenges but I foresee the opportunity. There is an organization that currently is established nationwide called the Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF). There are only currently 2 groups of the NCF in the Carolinas alone with none being established in South Carolina. I believe that there is a lack of the organization’s chapters that truly strives to dedicate the teachings from God to become implemented in nursing schools and nursing practices. To act upon this knowledge of no NCF chapters being established in South Carolina, I would attempt to bring forth the knowledge of the organization to campuses such as the one I am at now. Starting with introducing the great organization to the young up-and-coming students can be great to establish a basis of knowledge before their employment to practice. The nursing students at the University of South Carolina Lancaster (USCL) could participate in this organization and have the bible studies and meetings that discuss teachings and techniques the NCF presents. This opens a door to the ability for students at USCL to attend PMC and SMH. I would not only make this effort to speak to the Dean and head of the nursing program for Columbia but also specifically the Lancaster campus.
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I will then try to reach out to the local hospitals like PMC and SMH to determine if they have any knowledge of this organization. There is a local branch in Charlotte that is affiliated with CMC, but I believe the need to get more knowledge of this organization is apparent. I will contact the NCF to be able to get advice towards approaching the hospitals and how to implement the organization within the hospital itself to get interested staff involved. This revolving idea of creating a new organization of nurses who share the same Christian faith with a desire to improve spiritual health of their patients. In the fall, I will be attending Piedmont Medical Center for my clinical experience for the nursing program. I will most likely employ there upon my licensure. I have researched the amenities that PMC offers and found that a chaplain is available for patients to improve holistic understanding and can even offer services for the patients. While these services are important and available by request, a nurse can be actively and continuously engaging with their patients while providing care. This allows the development of a relationship where nurses can guide patients in their decisions with health and allowing a presence of God to be expressed. This is how patients can improve their perception of basically anything.
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1. Creation of a Christian Nursing Coalition (or society): This ideal practice can become reality when there is a specific organization that could be put in place at Piedmont such as the NCF. This will be an coalition of nurses with fundamental Christian beliefs to create a basis for how faith can be placed into care. Opportunities for networking can become a huge factor in growing a Christian nurse society that I would be ecstatic to see get implemented in many hospitals, especially around the Carolinas due to the lack of the NCF chapters. While certain hospitals with foundations of certain faith like Catholicism exist, I believe that an individual body separate from a hospital with a mission statement can have independence in developing their own basis for approaching care. Implementing bible studies that incorporate specific examples form scriptures that pertain to how approaching others with love and care with actual practice from the nurses.
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2. Community outreach/engagement: Partnering a nursing coalition such as the NCF with the community would also be beneficial to allow this type of culture of practice continue to be implemented. Students (high school and college) that are considering nursing as a career may be interested in participating with this group in some capacity, which is why presenting this group to USCL would be ideal. This would be on an campus organization and would have meetings at a hospital among staff nurses who share these values. Piedmont could introduce this opportunity for staff nurses, doctors, and other health care providers to come together and want to share their knowledge of faith with their patients through their care. Bodies of the NCF organization can act as mentors to younger nursing students and have local meetings at campuses. Campus informational sessions on the ideas that the organization creates in their scope of practice would be important for this cause as well. These factors can consist of the personal beliefs of a patient that may be in need or desire spiritual guidance. A nurse may have to approach and meet the needs with the patient, but have a desire to teach the patient about how God can assist them with their specific condition. At the campus level, I believe that opportunities to do outreach in the community and gain experience through assisting others while still presenting faith are valuable. This would be like standard church outreach events, but allow student nurses to talk to patients about health and God simultaneously. There is even instructional lectures on campus taught at USCL to the community members to the gym on campus. There are opportunities to incorporate faith and having blood pressure taken with conversations. Other crash course learning events can be implemented where people can learn about the involvement with God and have student nurses assist and be a part of the instructions.
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The NCF seems like an ideal organization to pursue for nurses with a desire to use their God given gift while presenting God’s word to patients. I believe there is a lack of the groups’ locations where I live and should have more locations, whether it is on campuses, in hospitals, or certain institutions. Having the ability to reach out to the younger students and gain a younger membership can influence growth and awareness of the NCF. The main goal to have nurses use a similar technique of faith discussions in their practice based on God’s word is so critical and in need for hospitals. Many nurses independently may share these values, but it is not common and needs an increase. Any nurse of faith could gain knowledge from not just the faith teachings but also how to be a more quality nurse involving holistic care.
References
"Home | Nurses Christian Fellowship." Home | Nurses Christian Fellowship. International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. Retrieved from: http://ncf-jcn.org/
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