Why Servant Nurse?

Servant leaders are those who give precedence to their teams’ growth and well-being. Servant leaders are not oppressive managers, but instead lead with the desire to serve, empower, mentor and cultivate the growth of their employees. Servant leaders lead, by example, modeling their skills, knowledge and expertise and not by barking orders, holding total power, or making decisions without staff input. Servant leaders put the growth of their employees first. They are patient, calm, trustworthy and have empathy. Just like nurses, as we, too, are servant leaders.

Public servants are people who work in the public arena, folks such as elected or appointed officials. Civil servants like social workers, firefighters, police officers and teachers are considered public servants as well. This is because their duty is to work for the welfare of communities, societies, state and nationwide while upholding the public’s trust. Just as nurses do.

So why are we not referred to as public servants? I searched high and low, but all I could find was that nurses are considered public servants when their employer is a government entity or a non-profit sector. Wait! So just because our employers happen to be for profit organizations, we are not considered public servants? However, if a nurse works for county, state/ veterans’ hospitals, they are considered public servants? Well, I don’t agree with that notion at all! Whether we work for private, government or a non-profit, what we do is serve patients from ALL walks of life. If private hospital patients are not part of the public, then I’m ready to be schooled.

Nursing, in my book, in my mind, in my private and professional world, is the be-all and end-of professions. I’m biased, I know. It is versatile, and multifaceted as nurses are teachers, mentors, leaders, caregivers, advocates and change agents. We assess, identify problems, plan the care, set goals, treat and intervene; to help patients achieve the goals set for them. We teach and empower patients; we help stabilize their acute state and guide them through their recovery journey and back to their level of independence.

We advocate for our patients when they are afraid to, or don’t know how. We speak on their behalf when they are unable due to cognitive impairment, or language and cultural barriers. We teach, lead and heal communities one patient at a time! We are servant leaders, servant teachers, servant nurses. Damn straight we’re public servants!