Nurse Stewardship

Nurses are the primary care provider when an individual becomes ill. While practicing skills and knowledge, nurses performs accordingly and professionally. Some nurses define professionalism, stewardship, advocacy and authenticity in various terms. In this peer interview, a registered nurse from Florida exhibits another way of integrating the characteristic of being a professional, steward and advocate nurse for all the patients.

What is your role as a health care team member?

One of the peer that got to interview is Tonya Houck. She is currently working as a charge nurse in a freestanding emergency room in Palm Harbor Florida. Some of her responsibilities are to have a smooth working flow of the emergency department, handles admission and

She defined stewardship as a person who preserves or promotes the intrinsic value of situations through wise management or practical reasoning, respecting all that contribute to that good. In addition, stewardship is to promote the wellbeing of each person within an organization. She is grateful for having a nurse manager that goes above and beyond to promote a pleasant work environment for everyone. Her nurse manager constantly asking those questions such “what do you need?”, “what can I do for you?” for all the patients and employees. Everyone feels at home because everyone treats as a family member. When there is an issue, her manager speaks to an individual privately and listen to every sides of the stories. A democratic leader where every staff has a voice and any problem can be resolved in a timely and matured

For her, managers and directors should be supportive and encouraging every nurse to further their education, either professional organizations, certification, career ladder or promotion. Authenticity is essential because trust is harder to gain, and other managers and directors can be dishonest and untrue to their profession. Calmness and maturity is an important factor of being authentic. However, managers and directors can utilize authenticity without abusing their power and unnecessarily breaking someone’s position or career. An example of good leader is genuine, values other’s opinion and can greatly influence