Pamela,
I agree with the assertion on your post that the traditional motivation in choosing nursing
as a profession is to serve God and to care for others, but these motivations seem to be rapidly
changing with the times. Nursing evolved from a Christian understanding and belief that a
human being was created in the image of God and that Christ-inspired nursing lies in its
emphasis of caring for the person as a whole (Shelly & Miller, 2006). Nowadays, several people
are choosing to go into nursing not for the service aspect of it, but for opportunities and
compensation. According to a study done by Marcinowicz, Owlasiuk, Slusarska, Zarzycka, &
Pawlikowska (2016), there are several factors that influenced an individual’s decision to choose
the nursing profession and these include: desire to serve and care for others, following the family
tradition of being in the field of nursing, employment opportunities, desire to work abroad, pure
chance, failure to get into another course, and desire to later on enter the medical profession.
The decision about becoming a nurse is mainly determined by practical reasons and these points
out to having more employment opportunities in the future.
In my years of nursing experience, I have encountered colleagues who do not share the
same Christian worldview that I have. Some will playfully tease you about your faith, while
others will admire you for boldly demonstrating your faith in the workplace. I have worked in
institutions where the medical worldview is prevalent, with nursing activities directed towards
the goal of managing illness through technological advancements and scientifically determined
care (Shelly & Miller, 2006). In using the modern worldview, healthcare providers are mostly
focused in diagnosing and treating physical conditions, with little regard for the patient’s
psychological and spiritual needs. For care to be effective, it should be patient-centered, tailored
and individualized according to the patient’s needs, values, choices and preferences (Murphy &
Walker, 2013). It is a challenge for nurses to provide nursing care that goes beyond the physical
manifestations of illness, but on viewing the patient holistically, and delving on psychological,
emotional and spiritual aspects to promote complete healing.
An important aspect of the Christian worldview of nursing I have learned is that it is
important to practice holistic caring that is made possible by the Christian nurse's belief in God,
as revealed in the Bible, who regards all human life as innately valuable (Shelly & Miller, 2006).
This can be accomplished by viewing patients as more than just a myriad of clinical
manifestations and disease processes and to scrutinize the root causes and etiology of human
illness as having physical, mental, psychological and spiritual cause (Moorman, 2015). The
Christian worldview encourages us to utilize spirit-guided care in dealing with our patients every
day, reminding us to remove the focus on ourselves as the motivating force in our profession, and
allowing Christ instead to flow through us and guide us in our care through the Holy Spirit
(Murphy & Walker, 2013). By utilizing the spirit-guided care in our daily nursing activities, we
can view our patients holistically instead of viewing nursing as a series of tasks or
compartmentalizing different aspects of nursing care.
In our present time where the modern worldview of nursing is so prevalent with an
overreliance to technology, protocols and medical advancements, it can be challenging to provide
Christ-inspired nursing care. But as Christian nurses, we should take heart that God will be
faithful in His promise to us as stated in Philippians 1:6 (English Standard Version), “And I am
sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus
Christ.”
References
Marcinowicz, L., Owlasiuk, A., Slusarska, B., Zarzycka, D., & Pawlikowska, T. (2016,
September 20). Choice and perception of the nursing profession from the perspective of
Polish nursing students: A focus group study. BioMed Central Medical Education,
16(243). https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12909-016-0765-3
Moorman, S. (2015, January/March). Nursing from a Christian worldview: Being transformed to
care. Journal of Christian Nursing, 32(1), E1-E7.
https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000143
Murphy, L. S., & Walker, M. S. (2013, July/September). Spirit-guided care: Christian nursing for
the whole person. Journal of Christian Nursing, 30(3), 144-152. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingcenter.com/cearticle?an=00005217-201309000-
00009&Journal_ID=642167&Issue_ID=1562623
Shelly, J. A., & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to care: A Christian worldview of nursing (2nd ed.).
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
