Values alignment with the Buntain School of Nursing program

Nursing Phil

Throughout my life, I have exemplified core Christian values like faith and temperance. Christian role models have helped me to shape a character and identity that is conducive to a life of selfless service, which I view the nursing profession to be. I want nothing more than to participate in a Christian nursing community, with the goals of making the world a better place one patient, and one community, at a time. Effective nurse education will allow me to develop my skills in all areas of nursing: from leadership to bedside practice. The Mark and Huldah Buntain School of Nursing is unique in that it offers a perfect fusion of Christian values with cross-cultural awareness, and correspondingly, cultural sensitivity.

I have always valued my spiritual health every bit as much as my physical and psychological health. This is why I gravitated towards the Mark and Huldah Buntain School of Nursing Baccalaureate program. The vision of holistic nursing that is commonly used is insufficient to me because it often excludes God from that vision. I firmly feel that God is in the vision of healing and nursing on a grand scale. Nurses heal communities and individuals alike. A Christian vision of nursing unites all the core principles of a healthcare practice under one common rubric. We work with people from different cultures, and religious backgrounds too, because it is our duty and obligation to God to heal others. Gifted with the calling of nursing, and with the intellectual and emotional tools to succeed in the career, nurses like me will help any and all healthcare institutions achieve their goals.

My short-term goals are obvious: to enter the Mark and Huldah Buntain School of Nursing as a Bachelor's degree candidate, and to excel in the program. Mid-range goals include networking with fellow nurse students so that in the future we can work together on important projects, such as internships abroad in places of great need. My long-term goals include leading a team of nurses in developing/third world countries, to deliver quality health care to the people on the planet who suffer the most. However, I also value the opportunity to work for healthcare institutions closer to my own home. At the moment I have no personal obstacles such as family obligations that might impede my ability to pursue either a degree in nursing or a career in this challenging field. I live a clean and healthy lifestyle, drug and alcohol free, which enables me to be a better healer as well as a healthier one.

Although I lack professional experience in the field of nursing per se, I have worked in healthcare institutions as a paid employee and also as a volunteer. Volunteering has long been an important part of my life, as my mother actually made all her children take on some type of charitable work offered through the church when we turned thirteen. I chose to work in the local senior assisted living facility. I chose the senior facility because I liked old people; I had a very strong relationship with both of my grandparents on my mother's side. I would listen to their stories and took care of them in their time of greatest need. At the senior center, it was like my family expanded. I bonded with several of the residents, who were lonely because their own children did not visit them for various reasons. The work I did was mundane, on the one hand: scrubbing floors at the end of the day or after accidents; or making sure the seniors were occupied by playing games with them. I helped to lead dances, and turned on the television for them, mediating disputes about which channels to watch. The experience was, however, far from mundane. It was a very important spiritual experience for me, and a great source of personal learning and development. The organization was run by what can be called a secular institution; there were no express religious values discussed in the code of ethics or mission statement. And yet, I imbued my work with a Christian vision. I did not need to talk about Christ to the residents. It was just in my attitude and approach that I developed a sense of maturity that was beyond my years. Perhaps it was being around people who were genuinely mature, that caused me to feel emotionally strong and connected. Whatever it was, it was during my work at the senior center that I became clear and determined to become a nurse.

The volunteer work I did at the senior center has continued ever since my first day at the institution. Since then, I have lost one of my beloved grandparents. It was the first time I was faced with the death of a loved one. Dealing with this tragedy involved the invocation of any and all coping mechanism I knew. I went to Church more often, and prayed twice as hard. I spoke to my pastor, and cried to my family members. The trauma deepened my personal connection with God and the source of all life. I believe that my having dealt with death has made me not only a better person but also a better nurse. Because I got a paying job after high school, I volunteer much less at the senior assisted living facility. Now I work there about once every two weeks. My paying job is at a local hospital, as a nurse assistant. I am learning about how healthcare centers are organized, and how they are structured in terms of the organizational hierarchy and human resources. I am learning the process of intake, and how patients are screened and asked about their insurance and medication history. Likewise, I see how patients leave the hospital and the discharge procedures that follow. I have learned a little about the information technology used in the hospital, although I am not allowed to actually use the system myself.

My work at the hospital has only made me want to be a nurse more. I want to have an expansive nursing career, too, one that is not constrained by culture, time, or place. For example, I see myself working in various Christian health missions around the world, in different countries and in different times of the year. I bring a great sense of enthusiasm to the Mark and Huldah Buntain School of Nursing. I am sure my classmates will share this enthusiasm as we together embark on the incredible journey of education, self-development, and professional development. In addition to my enthusiasm, I bring an unwavering faith and commitment. My Christian faith is always strong, and has never been doubted. The only kind of doubt I ever experience is doubt related to myself. Self-doubt and low self-esteem are problems that I believe will vanish as I become more aware of my boundaries and limitations and know how to work within them. I intend to do this while in the Bachelor's program.