AORN education

Discovering the creative potential in OR nurses Do you ever wonder what it takes to be a creative person? Why does one individual have a questioning, innovative mind while others do not? Do some persons that you work with have the ability to see solutions to common problems in a new, fresh way? Part of this creative approach is heightened perception, an ability to recognize significant aspects of the world that others miss. Another part is to make unusual connections of usual ideasimaginative manipulation. A third part is the courage and drive to create, to make use of imaginativeideas, and be able to apply them to achieve some new result. Does this describe you? Creativity is a potentiality of all persons and its development is a valued social aim because it is one of the most important resources of a society. Its usefulnessextends to all aspects of our society, including nursing. Because of the rapid expansion of technology, social theories, and psychological interventions that have influenced medical practice, nurses have had to adjust to new developments in patient care. These developments have demanded that decisions and readjustments be made rapidly. The emotional demands are high for nurses working under the conditions of frequent crises and high variability, such as in the operating room. Because the rapid rate of change makes knowledge obsolete so quickly, nurses need the ability to deal with changing events in a creative manner. Within the framework of rapid change, how

p J

do nurses choose a specialty and decide on a particular role and function in a particular environment? I was interested in whether creativity is a factor in this choice. Because operating room nurses elect to work in an area where crises are frequent and change is rapid, I questioned if OR nurses perhaps have a high level of undiscovered or latent creative potential. The literature on creativity relativeto nursing is limited. Some investigatorshave even questioned whether it is possible at all in nursing. It has been suggestedthat to be creative implies a desire to deviate from the obvious and seek fresh ideas, and that the pragmatic, practical technology and bias in nursing set conditions that limit the freedom of creative behavior. Certain personality traits have been shown to be essential to function well in the general field of nursing: likewise, different traits are required for different nursing specialties. Personality traits are characteristics of individuals that can be investigated by looking at individual differences in behavior. The presenceof certain personality traits is the basis for the creative process:the ability to differentiate and reintegrate parts of a whole, a mental attitude of openness to new ideas and change, and “self-strength.” Because of my interest in creativity and questions about nurses’ ability to be innovative, I set about studying the personalities of OR nurses in relation to creativity. Ninety-one OR nurses, all female, cooperated in this research study by taking a test that described 16 personalitytraits, 10 of them directly correlated to creativity. The group was compared or matchedto a group of adult American men and women of various educational levels, community sizes, and urban and rural residencies, representing each combination in the propor-

AORN Journal, May 1978, Vol27, No 6

1045

tion indicated in the 1968 US census. The OR nurses in this study exhibited several outstanding personality traits attributed to creative people; their scores on the test were significantly higher than exhibited in the comparison group of the average adult American population. These traits include a reserved, detached, aloof behavior, which is described as a temperamental inclination to be cautious in emotionalexpression. Personswith this trait like to work with things or words (logic, machinery), like working alone, and are dependable in precision work. This group of OR nurses also scored high on the trait of dominance, another identified characteristicof creative people. This behavior is distinguished by being assertive, aggressive, competitive, and independent-minded. Leaders in American society score higher in dominance than followers. Groups with high scores on dominance exhibit more effective role interaction and are generally more democratic in their procedures. These persons are described as feeling free to participate and raise group problems. In occupational choice, this personality trait is most associated with jobs requiring boldness and courage. Another personality trait related to creativity that the OR nurses exhibited by a higherthan-average score was self-reliance. People with this trait have a practical, mature, realistic (no-nonsense), temperamental dimension of the personality that indicates inner-directedness. Persons displaying this trait are often described as resourceful and self-sufficient, and they have a definite preferencefor making their own decisions. The OR nurses studied exhibited intellectual traits of insightfulness and intellectual adaptability. Persons with this trait are described as having an adventurous personality and as being genial, uninhibited, socially bold, impulsive, and having emotional and artistic interests. Another creative indicator for these OR nurses similar to the above trait was an interest in art and theory, in general being imaginative, unconventional, and absorbed in ideas. Along with looking at personalitytraits in this study, I compared age with average creativity scores. The average age of the OR nurses in this group was 37 years, ranging from 20 to 63 years. The highest creativity scores were recorded for nurses in the 3(1 to 39-year-old

1046

group. One possible explanation for this finding comes from Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs. As nurses have their basic needs of security, belonging, self-esteem, and esteem by others met during their earlier years of employment, they can then be involved in meeting their self-actualizationneeds. Self-actualization is the need for psychological growth, development, and utilization of potential. Perhaps the nurses could work toward the realization of their creative potential best during this period. Only as nurses study and attempt to assess the various factors that influence the effectiveness with which the professional nurse practitioner performs can the level of nursing care practice be improved. The findings of this study on creativity potential have implications for all nurses and have a special applicability for operating room nurses. The increase in creativity during the middle-age years has implications for the continuing education programs in nursing and the need to structure them for the adult learner. The cultivation of creative thinking needs to be fostered by emphasizing the importanceof originality, flexibility, and personality traits related to creativity. It involves recognizing and rewarding creative activities. Creativity is one of the most highly valued of human qualities. Much of the history of civilization is the record of man's creative ability. In my opinion, the future of nursing is dependent to a large degree on the quality of creative talent in the nurse practitioner.

Dorris Davis, RN Program specialist, continuing education References Cattel, R, Eber, H, Tatsuaka, M.Handbookof76 PF, 4th ed. Champaign, Ill: Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, 1970. Goble, F. The Third Force. New York: Pocket Books, 1970. Levine, M. "On creativity in nursing."lmage 5 (1973) 15-17. Siegelman, M, Pick, R. "Personality patterns related to occupational roles." Genetic Psychology Monologue 61 (1969) 291 -349.

AORN Journal, May 1978, Vol27, No 6

Discovering the creative potential in OR nurses.

AORN education Discovering the creative potential in OR nurses Do you ever wonder what it takes to be a creative person? Why does one individual have...
173KB Sizes 0 Downloads 0 Views