NURS 4525 Community as Partner: Building a Community Report

This report details a student's experience in a community-based nursing placement, focusing on building a strong and peaceful community. The student utilized Chinn's power and peace theory as a framework for fostering collaboration, respecting individual differences, and promoting health within the community. The report highlights the importance of a peaceful work environment, conflict resolution skills, and community outreach programs. It also emphasizes the impact of workplace bullying and the need for immediate action to protect the well-being of staff. The student reflects on personal growth, the influence on the health of the community, and a significant "light bulb" moment concerning workplace dynamics. The report concludes by emphasizing the value of community building in delivering safe and high-quality healthcare services.

Running head: BUILDING A COMMUNITY 1
Building a Community
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

BUILDING A COMMUNITY 2
The Chinn’s power and peace theory provided a framework for me and my team members, to
work together in harmony and peace for ensuring the well-being of the people and promote
the health of the community. This theory helped me to consider the values and opinions of
the group members, respecting their individual views while making a thougful choice. This
greatly helped in minimizing conflict and avoiding harmul interaction among the peers and
team members, thus fostering a calm and peaceful environment where every individual feels
safe, secured and valued for being a part of.
Maintaining a peaceful work environment ensures better and positive outcomes. A peaceful
environment facilitates good learning culture, where the participants feel more comfortable
and safe to come with their concern without any hesitation. Similarly, a good learning
environment in a school allows the students to come up with their concern without the feeling
of being judged or embarrassed. During my communinity placement in a school, I was
involved with supporting and assisting the students with their learning and also tried to
resolve their personal issues. I was also responsible for empowering the students and was
involved in their health promotion, improved their skills on social responsibility by educating
them on their developmental needs.
For building a strong community, I ensured first that all the students are being valued. As a
nurse leader preceptor, it is my duty and responsibility to treat everyone equally, greet them
with a smile everyday. I also valued and respected the individual differences, since I was
aware that every individual is different and has got different strength anf weakness. My duty
was to focus and capitalize on the strength of the individual and also encourage them to
minimize their weakness by creating an open environment where they will feel free to share
their concerns and faults wihout the fear of being judged. I also looked forward in creating an
environment of trust with the members, and made sure that the conclusion in any meeting is
reached after taking into account, the opinions of every staffs and members. Conflicts are

BUILDING A COMMUNITY 2
inevitable in a community, but dealing with it professionally, is what matters the most. I
embraced the conflict and actively took participation in resolving the same. I also shared the
conflict resolution skills with the students so that they can resolve the conflict among
themselves.
I took the necessary efforts to make the workplace enjoyable for the students to work and
learn freely, by organizing events and fun activities for the students to participate, engage and
interact with each other, which in turn, boosted their morale and build a strong relationship
based on mutual trust and commitment. And the results were appealing, there was a
significant increase in productivity and the satisfaction level of the students was also at its
peak.
There was an incident which I consider as a “light bulb” moment of my life, where I
witnessed how bullying disrupts the unity and peace within an workplace. When the teacher
requested one of the student to return the computer which he used earlier in the class, the
student arrogantly pushed the teacher in response. This is an example of workplace bullying,
and should be considered as highest concern. When the principal called me as a eyewitness
of this incident, I requested and urged the principal to take immediate and necessary actions
for protecting the well-being of the teacher. Since teachers are the fundamental unit in an
academic environment, they are responsible for providing education and knowledge to the
childrens, so if they are not feeling safe in their workplace and exposed to violence, then the
entire educational system will be destroyed and lose its balance.
A well organized and strong community structure is essential for better addressing the health
needs within a community and and also helps in resolving the issue with proper action plans.
I assumed the role of a leader and worked together with my team members, made efforts to
promote screening of health determinants among a given community along with addressing

BUILDING A COMMUNITY 2
their health needs, listening to their health concerns and issues. Together with the help of my
co-workers and staffs, we planned various community outreach programs, looking forward to
community empowerment, to recognise the different health issues among a given community,
to spread our message to a broader and wider population and to promote awareness for
achieving better health.
It was important for me to build a peer group as it facilitates high levels of activity by forcing
the members to push themselves hard and contribute valuable materials which will help them
to earn the respect of the peers. A strong and potent community can be build by encouraging
collaboration among the team members, and facilitating their engagement, accepting the
strength and weakness of each other and working together as a team towards a common
shared goal.
The sense of community helps to deliver safe and high quality of healthcare service to the
patients as it ensures greater employee and staff retension and the rate of absenteeism is also
reduced significantly. All the nurses and clinical staffs remain motivated and dedicated
towards their reponsibilties, taking care of the patients, listening to their needs, and deliver
patient centered care, making the values and opinions of the patient as a priority.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY 2
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amaladas, S., & Byrne, S. (2017). 1 Leading for peace. Peace Leadership: The Quest for
Connectedness.
Chinn, P. L. (2016). Dialogue on peace and power. Nursing science quarterly, 29(3), 208-
210.
Chinn, P. L., & Falk‐Rafael, A. (2018). Embracing the focus of the discipline of nursing:
critical caring pedagogy. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 50(6), 687-694.
Fraley, H. E., & Aronowitz, T. (2017). The peace and power conceptual model: An
assessment guide for school nurses regarding commercial sexual exploitation of
children. Nursing science quarterly, 30(4), 317-323.
Peart, J., & MacKinnon, K. (2018). Cultivating Praxis Through Chinn and Kramer's
Emancipatory Knowing. Advances in Nursing Science, 41(4), 351-358.
Schockman, H. E., Soto, V. A. H., & de Moras, A. B. (2019). Community Building: To
Make, Build, and Maintain Peace. Peace, Reconciliation and Social Justice
Leadership in the 21st Century (Building Leadership Bridges, 8, 63-66.