Abstract:
Nurses encounter many requirements from patients and other professional groups.
Due to the increasing complexity, nurses cannot care for the patients according to
their values. As a result, more and more nurses question the meaning of their work
and are continuously getting burned out.
This master's thesis examines the following question: What is the possibility of consciously integrating spirituality as a leadership tool in the prevention of burnout
of nursing staff in diaconal clinics.
In order to answer this question, the topic of burnout is analysed on the findings of
Maslach and Leiter. Furthermore, the topic of leadership in the traditional sense andin the Christian understanding is outlined. To add further context to the discussions, the historical roots of nursing with the topic of spirituality are shown. Also discussedare the effects of the loss of spirituality in healthcare. The topic of spirituality is analysed in relation to practical theology along with the term diaconia with biblical references.
In the main part of the work, two spiritual leadership concepts are compared and the
knowledge gained from them is derived. One concept is "Spiritual Leadership" by
Louis W. Fry, and the other “Existential Communication and Spiritual Resources in
Nursing”, developed from the German Evangelical Church. The comparison of leadership concepts includes the understanding of spirituality and leadership as well as their impact their well-being effects. The prophylactic effects of each concept
are investigated with the causes of burnout and from a Christian theological
perspective.
