Chat Room helps you dig deeper into JCN content, offering ideas for personal or group reflection with other nurses-great for Nurses Christian Fellowship student chapters on campus or nurse fellowship groups!
A Journey with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Read Jeffery and Fish, 152-159.
1. What are the two types of ALS? How do they differ?
2. What are some ALS risk factors?
3. What is the basis for the term lateral sclerosis? When is this seen in the disease progression?
4. A diagnosis of ALS can be made when motor neurons from three or four of these areas are affected. What are those four areas?
5. What are some benefits to noninvasive ventilation?
6. The author states, "Not only are these patients facing death within an abbreviated time frame, but they watch their physical bodies becoming altered and incapacitated for years before dying." How might you care for the emotional and spiritual needs of a patient with ALS? His/her family?
7. Reflect on Psalm 13. Assess the possible emotional state of the author. How might a patient with ALS relate to these verses? Where might he/she find hope? As a caregiver, what do these verses offer you?
What Is Caring in Nursing? Sorting Out Humanistic and Christian Perspectives
Read Newbanks, Rieg, & Schaefer, 160-167.
1. What are basic differences between Christian and humanistic models of nursing care?
2. Discuss transcendence from Christian and humanistic views. How do these views play out in your practice setting?
3. The authors quote, "Stegmeir (2002) holds that rather than looking for the 'goddess within' as humanistic theorists propose, the 'Christian seeks to transcend self by reaching out to God and allowing his Holy Spirit to work through us.'" Share your perspective on how the Holy Spirit guides you in daily practice. How do you invite the Spirit's presence into practice?
4. Describe your personal nursing model. What drives it? Do you recall the model you were taught in nursing school? How is it alike or different from your current model?
5. Read Luke 10:30-37. What acts of caring are seen? What appears to be the motivation for care? How do you counteract negative motives in your life? What positive steps can you take when a colleague's motives are less than?
Again? Repetition in Teaching and Learning
Read Mahlan, 200.
* The author writes, "While cognitive and psychomotor benefits of repetition are clear, how does our approach to repetition impact affective learning?" Discuss.
* If you are in nursing school, what is the general attitude of your professors toward repetition? Are they patient and willing to go over material again? What is your attitude?
* What is your preferred learning style? Given that style, share how repetition is and is not helpful.
* For you, what factors make the use of repetition positive or negative? Are these factors different in the academic setting versus the clinical setting?
* What does the author suggest is a major barrier to repetition for the bedside nurse? How does this align with your experiences?
* Proverbs 1:1-9:12 (MSG) states, "These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David's son, Israel's king-Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it's going; A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair; To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality. There's something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn-Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women." What do these words suggest to you about repetition in teaching and/or learning?