A Model for Peaceful Practice and Leadership

The concept of power has been a significant issue in nursing historically, in practice, leadership, and theory development. Many years ago the power differential was expressed visibly as nurses gave up their seats when physicians came on the unit of a hospital setting. Conceptually, power has been something to hold, as in the power of position. Conversely, in practice, nurses try to give it away therapeutically, as in “to empower the other person.” In contrast, Parse (2002) views power as inherent in being human so that it would be not possible to give it away. In other nursing frameworks, the term empowerment is acceptable. In Chinn’s peace and power framework, the model ranges from working with groups from within one’s own family to leading peacefully in practice and educational settings.

The history of power in nursing has been difficult for nurses, who often work in medical care systems, where physicians hold the authority and, necessarily, the power. Advanced education has given nursing greater power in practice and in science. In the United States (US), advanced practice nurses have full prescriptive authority, but only in some states. Some states require a supervising physician, even though the nurse practitioner has the appropriate education for the full scope of practice. Consumers expect that nurses will protect them and their loved ones in acute care situations in the hospital, yet the public also knows that there is a crisis in healthcare with the threat of medical errors of all kinds. Paynton (2009) found significant the use of personal or informal power by nurses within healthcare settings. In a physician-dominated hierarchicy nurses often have to work around systems to adequately act as persons’ advocates.

Abuse of power has the potential to undermine relationships whenever there is a clear power differentiation and a power broker who is not comfortable negotiating power or who feels that power is critical to identity. Too often the person assigned power loses the connection with those who were previously peers as well as the workers within the system. In academe, the power differential between tenure-track and non-tenure track can, without strong leadership, make it difficult to work in teams. Power differentials occur within all systems. Whenever there is power over, subtle bullying can occur. Power issues in management and leadership can also result in intimidation in practice settings (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2015). Power issues in education can result in incivility in the classroom, a hot topic in nurse education. Power issues between and among faculty struggling to achieve tenure may not feel comfortable with the tenured faculty, which can make it difficult to collaborate on research and to negotiate authorship. Faculty members who have not yet achieved tenure often feel like second-class citizens and many times they are treated that way.

The concept of power can be positive with the perspective that Chinn brings to the dialogue. Many years ago, the concept of peace and power in the context of feminism (Wheeler & Chinn, 1991) became a way to explore and work together in groups and it was particularly relevant because it came from nursing. The model uses concepts of feminist activism, incorporating peaceful principles, to get past hierarchical processes that fail to let persons fully express themselves.

Peggy Chinn is known for addressing the issue of peace and power early in her career and early in nursing, which had a significant impact on the profession. She is Professor Emerita of Nursing at the University of Connecticut. She is the founding editor of Advances in Nursing Science, which since 1978 has been a premier journal publishing cutting-edge scholarship in nursing. She authors books and journal articles on nursing theory, feminism and nursing, the art of nursing, nursing education, writing and publishing and LGBTQ health. Most recently, 2^nd Edition eBook of the Eliason and Chinn book “LGBTQ Cultures: What Every Healthcare Professional Needs to Know” is due for release.

She is co-founder and web manager of the Nurse Manifest Project, a project (www.nursemanifest.com) to inspire grass-roots action by nurses to shape the future of nursing and healthcare. Her book, Peace and Power and website focused on cooperative group process., is grounded in critical feminist theory and philosophy and are recognized as models for critical methods and action.