Incorporating a Christian Worldview

Incorporating a Christian Worldview:

Religion, Psychology, Christian Counseling
INDS 400 BUO_LOU, APA Style
Shawanna D. Jackson
Liberty University














Incorporating a Christian Worldview
Introduction:
We live in a society where there are constant changes within our healthcare system which
impacts every one of our lives. Everyone at some point in their life has been to the hospital, and
the experience is often positive or negative based on your reason for going and the people you
may encounter. Our healthcare while better than other countries could use some improvement.
There are many underserved populations of indigent care patients who have problems with
linkage to care for various reasons. Even with the introduction of Obama care unfortunately for
all its not affordable and there is an unfair imbalance of those who receive care the best care
because of lack of coverage and financial resources. I am passionate about the delivery of
appropriate healthcare to all individuals. It would be my intent to impact the hospital
administration field in such away we are able to ensure equality in the treatment and delivery of
care for the patients regardless of socioeconomically class or status.
Body:
According to my strengths quest results my top five themes were positivity, developer,
connectedness, achiever, and being strategic. These strengths can easily be transferred in the
Hospital Administrator role. This is a senior level position which is responsible for managing
both clinical and non-clinical aspects of hospital management inclusive of financial, personnel
and clinical operations management. This is a great opportunity to focus on being a good
steward, the bible says in Titus 2:7 show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works,
and in your teaching show integrity, dignity. I think this text speaks to leaders as a whole,
encouraging us to lead by example. Due to the uniqueness of this role I think I would have
ample opportunity to positively impact the quality of patient care and to improve healthcare
systems. Hospital Administrators play a critical role in the saving of lives without practicing
Incorporating a Christian Worldview
medicine, this role serves as the heartbeat in healthcare management because someone has to
make sure the hospital is function efficiently and providing adequate medical care to patients.
They serve as liaisons between governing boards, medical staff and department heads and
integrate the activities of all departments so they function in a uniformed manner in accordance
with hospital bylaws (Career, Princeton Review).

Summary:
Religious Cognate
As a Christian, in a leadership in a secular hospital setting it is imperative to know why
you believe what you believe. I think we have a responsibility to be grounded in our faith and
have an ever growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The bible tells us in 2 Timothy
2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. In addition to having your own faith, it is
also important to be aware of other religions and have a general understanding of what the
context of these belief systems are. In many academic and community health systems the
population of staff and patients are extremely diverse and with those individuals come there
morals and belief systems. The United States is founded upon the principles
of freedom of religion, although it has been difficult at times to understand and apply those
principles (Hammond, 1998). This gives each of us the freedom to practice and adopt any
religion they desire.
Over the last three decades and with the passing of the Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO) laws, employers in this country are still grasping how to understand and effectively deal
with the challenges of employee rights and needs in the workplace (Cash, Gray 2000). In
healthcare we are not allowed to be bias in our hiring practices, an individual cannot be denied
Incorporating a Christian Worldview
employment because of their belief systems, nor can a medical institution willingly deny a
person care because of their belief systems. Having a healthy Christian worldview helps to keep
me balance so that I would be able to make right decisions and lead responsibly regardless of the
various belief systems others may adhere. There may not always be an appropriate time where I
can verbally witness and tell someone about Jesus Christ because of workplace rules, laws and
ethics concerning staffing and patients that I would be subjected to adhering to. I believe that
although I may have to adhere to the rules I dont believe that it puts me in a position of where I
would have to compromise or denounce my faith. Through the courses taken in my religious
cognate, I realize every opportunity to be a witness or demonstrate the love of Christ can be
shown by actions not always by word. I developed skills to successful integrate my Christian
beliefs into my thoughts words and deeds as a leader and a servant.
Psychology Cognate
The importance of Hospital Administrators surpasses what may traditionally be thought
of them. There is a partnership with both the physicians and patients to resolve any challenges
and remove barriers to care. Like the importance and the impact of the religious cognate the
psychology cognate is equally important. One of the most challenging barriers in healthcare is
the handling issues surrounding employees and patients with mental health disorders. Many are
often undiagnosed and are not properly treated for the mental health issues. As a culture when
we think of healthcare the component of mental health is a separate issue and not included in the
care of the whole person. The bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. The burden of mental illness is
profound and growing, mental health disorders are the second highest cause of death in the
United States.
Incorporating a Christian Worldview
From the patient perspective there are many challenges. In areas of the hospital such as
the emergency room, regardless if a patient presents with a mental health problems as their
primary complaint for treatment, if the present with other chief complaints of medical problems,
injury or trauma, that chief complaint comes the primary diagnosis to be treated by the
emergency physician (Larkin, Beautrais, Spirito, Kirrane, Lippmann, M, & Milzman 2009).
There are a number of confounding factors which contribute or enhance a mental health disorder.
For example, in the African American culture there is a high number of those who dont believe
in going to see a shrink they solely believe in the prayers of the righteous, where as in other
races there is no problem with seeking help for a mental health issue. The disparities between
races and social class can also contribute to treatments or availability of care.
From an employer perspective this influential role has the ability to ensure that
employees have a healthy work/home life balance. The hospital environment is extremely
stressful and while most people can cope with stress for short periods but chronic stress produces
prolonged changes in the physiological state (Chang, Tugad, Asakawa 2006). It would be
important to ensure that proper resources are effective and available for employees when they go
through challenging times within their lives. Having the background knowledge of
psychological methods and treatments can be a great asset in developing tools to systematic
improve patient care for all. Similar to the religion cognate, the psychology cognate has
equipped me with expanded knowledge of the psychological aspects within healthcare.
Christian Counseling
My final cognate is Christian Counseling I believe this cognate marries the principles of
my other two cognates of religion and psychology into the form of counseling. As mentioned in
my strength quest reflection paper I place a high value on my relationships in my life because
Incorporating a Christian Worldview
they are extremely important to me. This form of counseling is not limited to Christians but the
principles in the approach are founded in Jesus Christ. This cognate teaches you to maintain
neutrality in your encounter with others as well as keep healthy boundaries in your relationships.
While the client counselor role may differ these principles translate into the healthcare
management as well. Physicians are not able to disclose patient information without consent and
there are equally strict guidelines which are also in the employee employer relationship. In the
psychology cognate above I identified that clinicians do not look at the total wellbeing of an
individual. I believe from the Christian counseling perspective it looks at the total person
inclusive of spiritual wellbeing.
As a Hospital Administrator, personnel management and patient care oversight the reality
of a hospital siting there are constant crisis and traumatic incidents. The bible tells us in
Proverbs 11:4
14
where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is
safety. The environment is unpredictable, the need for the ability to counsel staff and or patients
is vital for this role.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this combination of cognates not only successfully prepares me for my
future career but a lot of what I have learned so far has continually contributed to my growth as
individual in Christ. While preparing for different transitions in my life I was able to effectively
apply many of the principles learned in these cognates to my life. The benefit of having acquired
this training and acquiring a leadership position such as a Hospital Administrator, give God the
opportunity to use me for his glory and I believe with God I will be able to impact the way we
look at healthcare operationally and systematically. I believe the combination of all three offers a
healthy perspective to serve effectively as a Christian in the healthcare field.
Incorporating a Christian Worldview
References:
Hammond, P. E. (1998). With liberty for all: Freedom of religion in the United States.
Westminster John Knox Press.

Cash, K. C., & Gray, G. R. (2000). A framework for accommodating religion and spirituality in
the workplace. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 124-133.

Larkin, G. L., Beautrais, A. L., Spirito, A., Kirrane, B. M., Lippmann, M. J., & Milzman, D. P.
(2009). Mental health and emergency medicine: a research agenda. Academic Emergency
Medicine, 16(11), 1110-1119.

Chang EC, Tugade MM, Asakawa K.(2006) Stress and coping among Asian Americans: Lazarus
and Folkman's model and beyond. In: Wong PT, Wong LC, editors. Handbook of
multicultural perspectives on stress and coping. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers;

Career: Hospital Administrator. Princeton Review Retrieved September 15, 2014.