Salt and Light: Stewarding Time in the Midst of Pressure 

By Brent Davis with ChatGPT 

In healthcare education and practice—whether in nursing, pharmacy, or academic leadership—time rarely feels abundant. Clinical rotations, laboratory preparation, grading, research, patient counseling, family obligations, and community commitments converge into a steady stream of urgency. In such environments, “time management” is often reduced to efficiency strategies and productivity systems. 

Christian author Elizabeth Grace Saunders, in Divine Time Management: Trusting God, Loving Others, and Surrendering the Stress of Your To-Do List, offers a different starting point. Her central claim is that time stewardship is not first a matter of technique but of trust. Stress often flows less from the volume of tasks and more from the belief that everything depends on us. 

For students, faculty, and community members navigating demanding roles, this reframing is both spiritually grounding and practically stabilizing. 

 

Time Management as Trust 

Saunders argues that many people attempt to manage time while simultaneously attempting to manage outcomes that belong to God. This produces chronic stress, especially in high-responsibility professions such as healthcare. 

For nursing and pharmacy students, this often manifests as: 

• Fear of making a clinical error 

• Pressure to perform flawlessly under observation 

• Anxiety about grades or professional reputation 

For faculty, it appears as: 

• Overcommitment to committees and initiatives 

• Unrealistic expectations for research productivity 

• Emotional exhaustion from mentoring and service 

For community members and professionals, it may surface as: 

• Caregiving strain 

• Volunteer overload 

• Work-life imbalance 

Saunders’ corrective is simple but profound: responsibility does not equal omnipotence. Faithfulness is required; total control is not. 

 

Distinguishing Assignment from Assumption 

A core insight in Divine Time Management is the need to differentiate between true assignments and internal assumptions. 

Assignments are legitimate responsibilities: 

• A scheduled clinical shift 

• A required exam 

• A course syllabus deadline 

• A patient consultation 

Assumptions are self-imposed expectations: 

• “I must never appear uncertain.” 

• “I should say yes to every request.” 

• “If I rest, I am falling behind.” 

In healthcare education, where evaluation and patient safety matter deeply, assumptions easily multiply. Yet overextension reduces attentiveness, increases emotional reactivity, and may compromise judgment. 

Clarity about actual expectations allows healthier boundaries and more focused effort. 

 

Capacity Is Designed, Not a Defect 

Healthcare culture often rewards endurance. Long shifts, late-night study sessions, and compressed turnaround times are normalized. Saunders reminds readers that human limits are intentional, not accidental. 

For students: 

• Learning requires rest for memory consolidation. 

• Emotional exposure to suffering requires processing time. 

• Fatigue impairs clinical reasoning. 

For faculty: 

• Creativity and scholarship require margin. 

• Mentorship demands emotional presence. 

• Sustainable leadership depends on rhythm. 

Research supports these realities. Chronic stress is associated with impaired cognition, increased error risk, and burnout among healthcare professionals (Dyrbye et al., 2014; West et al., 2018). Time stewardship, therefore, is not merely personal wellness—it is an ethical matter tied to patient safety and professional integrity. 

 

Love as the Metric of Productivity 

Saunders reframes productivity around love rather than volume. The question becomes not, “How much did I accomplish?” but “Was I faithful and present?” 

In nursing: 

• Did I listen carefully? 

• Did I treat this patient with dignity? 

In pharmacy: 

• Did I counsel with clarity and patience?