Katherine,
I agree with the statement in your post about having a palpable difference in the work
atmosphere of your unit and attributing it to the number of staff in your workplace who share the
same Christian worldview that you have. This sounds amazing and very encouraging, as I have
had the experience where I have worked in places where several of my colleagues do not share
the same Christ-inspired nursing care that I give to my patients. It has been challenging
whenever I witness my colleagues give little regard to the healing effect of faith and how it leads
to a patient’s recovery and wellness. Slowly, I have learned to be bold in demonstrating my faith
in my nursing practice, as I was inspired by my encounters with more experienced colleagues
and nursing leaders who were never shy in integrating their faith in their daily patient care.
Christian nursing has been defined as the provision of compassionate care and caring for
a person holistically, reflecting God’s grace in every aspect of care with the aim of assisting a
person towards the achievement of health, relief from suffering and if necessary, a dignified and
peaceful death (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The motivation to Christian nursing comes primarily
with the desire to reflect God’s love and to demonstrate a sense of gratitude to God and not
merely a response to a sense of duty or a desire to address a human need (Newbanks, Rieg, &
Schaefer, 2018). I believe that this could be the underlying reason why others have seen that
your unit had more empathy, teamwork, appreciation and outward support with each other, and
this makes for a very healthy and Christ-centered work environment.
A nurse can work in a variety of clinical settings and can sometimes be placed in a
situation where the prevailing worldview in a workplace is the modern or the postmodern
worldview, instead of the Christian worldview. According to Neubert & Dougherty (2015), there
was a positive correlation between honoring God in work belief and the demonstration of helping
behaviors in the workplace. It is important for a nurse to outwardly demonstrate their Christian
worldview as it can serve as an inspiration to others who may be hesitant in practicing their faith.
In my current experience in the ICU, colleagues often give me feedback about my positive
outlook and nurturing behaviors for patients under my care. Whereas my colleagues will
complain about a demanding, emotionally draining and verbally abusive patient, under my care,
such a patient will respond with more respect and more willingness to cooperate to nursing care.
I believe that it is God’s love manifesting in my care for my patients and having to courage to
demonstrate it can serve as an encouragement for others who may initially be scared of
integrating their faith in their nursing practice.
It is important to remember that faith and work integration exists and in certain
workplaces where it does exist, it can foster a positive work environment and affirmatively
contribute to the workplace (Neubert & Dougherty, 2015). We should be reminded that as
members of a caring profession, God inspires us to use our gifts to minister His love to others as
stated in 1 Peter 4:10 (New International Version), “Each of you should use whatever gift you
have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” It is my
constant prayer before I start my job to make a valuable contribution to the workplace and to
have more opportunities to bless and serve others.
References
Neubert, M. J., & Dougherty, K. D. (2015). Integrating Faith and Work. Retrieved from
https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/247526.pdf
Newbanks, S. R., Rieg, L. S., & Schaefer, B. (2018, July/September). What is caring in nursing?:
Sorting out humanistic and Christian perspectives. Journal of Christian Nursing, 35(3),
160-167. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000441
