Indiana Wesleyan University

Adult and Professional Studies

World Changer Initiatives

 

Facilitator name:  Jeanne Burger

 

Course name & number:  Critical Care Nursing   NUR 478

 

Ways in which this class incorporates world changer ideas:

 

The following were examples written by students of how they saw themselves becoming world changers during their Critical Care Nursing Course.  (NUR 478) These were from an assignment that was a part of their weekly practicum journals.  They all gave me permission to share them. The comments are from BSN 75.

 

One of the skills listed for a world changer is servanthood.  This includes the ability to see and meet the needs of others.  This skill is truly an acquired “taste”.  I see this in emergency room nursing.  It is easy to see the obvious needs of the ER patient, which is what I may be able to assess as a student or rookie.  It is the unspoken or hidden needs that the experienced ER nurse sees that I could not. The need for an elderly patient to have extra privacy when she has to receive an enema or the need to have a family member or nurse at the bedside when the male doctor explains her medical needs and to help translate the plan of care. The disposition of selflessness is a definite must in the world of nursing if one’s care is to be effective.

 

 

There were several world-changing outcomes demonstrated by the staff in the emergency

room…one was servanthood and the ability to meet the needs of the client…through the compassion of having a support person brought in from the women’s shelter who had specialized training in rape support…The staff’s actions as a liaison between the victim and her parents, and in arranging further counseling and support for the client and family appeared to establish the possible beginning of a healing relationship between them. On dismissal from the emergency room she went home with her parents.  This was an important lesson and role modeling of servanthood.

 

The value of human worth was seen through the support given to the client even though the staff, including myself, had preconceived notions about the client.  We were able to put those aside and see this young woman as a troubled young woman who had been victimized. We were able to see her worth as an individual and give her the support she deserved to help her cope with a horrifying situation.  This was a wonderful example and lesson in human worth.

 

I observed great communication between nursing staff…I gained personally because I was able to see team work in action and observe how everyone had a role and played an important part in the care of the patient.  I also grew in the way of communication by critically thinking while reading the doctor’s progress notes.  I grew professionally because it is always good to surround yourself with people who can teach you and from who you can learn.  I also was able to observe the nurse be a world changer in the sense of giving spiritual care to a family member. The nurse talked in-depth with the family and was very honest.  The family member will probably always remember that nurse and what was said.  Having clinical on the coronary/medical care unit has inspired me even further to become a world changer.  A world changer, an agent of change that looks for little ways to make a difference in someone’s life.  The action may be so small but the repercussions of the action are big and impact someone’s life.  Sometimes I forget about the little things in life that would just make someone’s day and help change their attitude; such as a smile or a kind word. BSN 75

 

Some people need a different kind of support; financial, medical, or emotional…like the lady who kept coming back to use the emergency room for her support system…God created us all equal and I think at times I had a hard time believing all people have worth.  It was very hard to try to love the drunk, who was throwing up on the floor, as one of God’s children.  It did give me a goal in my personal Christian life to learn to believe all do have worth.

 

By spending time in the emergency room, I know I still have a lot to learn and that learning is an ongoing process. This applies to my Christian faith as well as my nursing.  I believe I am dedicated to my profession and have been called to do nursing. I can never remember not knowing I wanted to be a nurse.

 

My Christian faith should always be there at work or anywhere.  I want my patients to feel comfortable enough to ask me to pray for them or for them to talk about their faith.  My desire is to serve God in my job as well as my life outside the hospital and if I can do this, then I can be a world changer.