Caring from a Christian Worldview

Abstract

This study explored Christian nurses' views of their source of caring (Deity or other), adherence to biblical faith practices, and view of nursing as a job, career, profession, or calling. Participants who reported Deity (God, Christ, Holy Spirit) as their source of caring were more likely to view nursing as a calling and report a higher degree of volunteering (serving), giving (financially to a religious community), devotions and prayer (personal walk), and fellowship (meeting with a community of other believers). Results have implications for understanding the concept of caring within the context of a Christian worldview.

Loving and Giving to Others

“…Similar characteristics of caring, humility, love of truth, patience, compassion, attentiveness, and justice have been identified as essential attributes for healthcare professionals to view themselves as becoming culturally competent in a Biblically-Based Model of Cultural Competence by Campinha-Bacote (2013). The SSM nurses also gave with sincerity and dedication, not expecting any financial rewards or incentives; this finding expands on caritative caring as described by Eriksson (2007) and concurs with the findings of Rieg et al(2018) that nurses who report their caring came from Deity were more likely to see nursing as a calling and to volunteer.…”

“…The SSM nurse is always willing to do extra work beyond those outlined as her/his regularly assigned duties, related to the study of Rieg et al (2018). Furthermore, the SSMN is performed through sensitive nursing care (Hovland et al, 2018; Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018), which positively affects the clients' spirits until they later recover from their illness.…”

“…Furthermore, the SSMN is performed through sensitive nursing care (Hovland et al, 2018; Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018), which positively affects the clients' spirits until they later recover from their illness. Interestingly, the SSMN focused on providing high-quality nursing care to clients and attempted to address the needs and concerns of the client's family members related to the study of Rieg et al (2018). As such, the SSMN evolved into a form of nursing care that encompassed the best aspects of nursing practice as it allowed the healthcare provider to follow the idiom of putting yourself in someone else's shoes.…”

“…The SSM is related to several theories of caring in nursing, all rooted in the principles of love, respect for human dignity, and an expectation of nurse behavior that demonstrates caritas , the Latin word for love (Rieg et al, 2018; Watson, 2012). Caring in nursing refers to two domains: first, the act of caring for another person unable to care for themselves; and second, the adjective describing a nurse who carries out those actions for another person while displaying compassion, kindness, and concern (Adam, 2016).…”

“…Additionally, from a Christian worldview, the emphasis of nursing practice is on caring for the whole embodied person and respecting the person as one created in the image of God; this type of caring is in response to God's grace and demonstrates God's character (Shelly et al, 2021). Caring and spiritual love come from the heart, not the mouth, resulting from one's relationship with God (Rieg et al, 2018; Shelly et al, 2021).…”