Many of us think of caring as an important part of nursing, yet hospital staff are telling me that nurses are no longer as caring as they used to be. I had one staff person share with me that she was in the room and the patient was crying in pain and distress. The nurse came in, turned off the call light and began hanging a piggyback antibiotic. She did ask the patient why she called, but never looked at the patient and hung the medication. The nurse did say she would be back with pain medicine, but never once looked at the patient, touched the patient or acknowledge her beyond “words to the IV pole.”
As Christians, we should be the most caring of all people, because of the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Yet, we all know Christians that aren’t even civil to one another, let alone caring. So then, what can be our model of caring in Christian nursing or how can we live out the example of Jesus? When I reflect on my model of caring in nursing, I think of empathy. I really try to imagine what is going on with the person, almost like the old adage, “Don’t judge someone until you have walked a mile in their moccasins (shoes).” Imagine how hard it is to be diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis or losing your loved one in a car wreck, loss of a child, etc. All of the diseases, illnesses, and traumas that we face as nurses, stop me in my tracks, wrenches my heart, and spurs me to strive to be an excellent, caring nurse. What is in your model of caring in nursing?
Carrie Dameron 