I was flicking through this week’s Nursing Standard because….well, because the solitaire on my computer wasn’t working (stupid piece of shit magazine. Yes, Nursing Standard, we haven’t forgotten or forgiven your cover feature on the use of astrology in nursing…or the one on how to write doctor-and-nurse romance novels for Mills and Boon) and I came across a news snippet stating that a Christian university in Colorado has started offering nursing degrees that claim to blend nursing training with Christian values.
The course in question appears to be this one.
Nursing art and science at Colorado Christian University is grounded in physical science, liberal arts, and biblical principles. Each of these elements is foundational to the curricular building blocks in the education of nursing students. The curriculum emphasizes the health-illness continuum, care management, and restoration in order to support safe and effective nursing practice. The curricular framework cultivates professional development and nursing as ministry. The Bible and a personal faith in Jesus Christ empower students to interpret knowledge and practice the profession as a means of allowing faith to inform and shape the whole person and the practice of professional nursing. Faculty members facilitate the integration of faith, learning, and professional practice in order to prepare nurses to make a difference in the world.
It’s certainly been my experience (based on anecdotal impressions) that nursing seems to attract quite a few practising Christians. No real surprise, to be honest, given the vocational nature of the nursing profession. Mental, the founder and maintainer of this blog, is by his own description a member of the God Squad.
But an actual nursing degree that incorporates Christian theology? Good thing or bad thing?
The secularist, agnostic and Thelemite in me instinctively would say that this is a bad thing, and Christian theology should not be blended with nurse training.
However, there’s a few colleagues I’ve worked with that make me think again.
Three months after I completed my acute-ward-from-hell placement that made up the subject of my previous post, I found myself on my next placement, this time in dementia care. On the ward was a healthcare assistant who was a devout Christian.
I was chatting to him one day about a study day he had attended. The NHS trust had hired a suite at a four-star hotel, complete with four-star standard of lunch. He described the fancy dishes that were on offer, and then said, “I felt ashamed to be there. The trust is happy to shell out all that money for a fancy lunch for us, and look at the garbage we have to feed our patients.”
My immediate reaction was the thought that I couldn’t imagine any of the lazy sods on my previous acute ward saying that. They’d have been too busy stuffing their faces and slagging off their colleagues.
As well as working tirelessly on the ward, this same HCA was using all his annual leave time helping to run a humanitarian project on the Occupied Territories of Palestine. He spent large amounts of his own money flying back and forth between Britain and Palestine, often incurring considerable harassment from the Israeli authorities in doing so. No mean feat for somebody on a HCA salary.
I’ve met quite a few Christian nurses like him. Hardworking, compassionate individuals who seem to have taken on board all of the Christian values of service and altruism and none of the sanctimonious, moralising baggage.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve also worked with plenty of excellent nurses who were committed atheists, and a few Christians who seemed to want to proselytise and badger people into being assimilated into the Borg.
Even so, there’s definitely a lot of fantastic nursing work done by people who don’t want to convert the world, aren’t trying to rewrite palaeontology and don’t seem overly bothered by what consenting adults do to each others’ bottoms, but do seem to channel their religious beliefs into working to make life better for their fellow humans.
And maybe that, after all, is what Jesus would do.
I’m a complete atheist but have huge respect and affection for the chaplain who regularly visits the local inpatient unit.
The Chaplains at my local hospital also do an excellent job visiting patients on the MH unit. They have formed themslves into the department of “spiritual care” a nice touch I thought.
I wonder if I could apply to become a Jedi chaplain?
I think this course would be a good thing if the basic principles of christianity are followed, but not if it teaches students to push their religion on others or take it to extremes.
The Chaplains I have met are more than happy to support anyone with a spiritual belief, it doesn’t have to be the same religion as themselves, so I think Zed *could* be a Jedi chaplain, if that were a real religion that you can study for!!
Of course it’s a real religion! George Lucas made 6 documentaries about it!
Oh well, it *must* be then.
*rolls eyes*
Reading the quote from Colorado Christian University, it seems to me that they will be turning out nurse evangelists, which is very different from nurses who happen to be Christian. “The Bible and a personal faith in Jesus Christ empower students to **interpret knowledge** and practice the profession as a means of allowing faith to **inform and shape** the whole person and the practice of professional nursing.” (My added emphasis) Would this lead to a skewed view of symptoms, e.g. delusions? Also, I think it would worry me if I knew that a nurse caring for me had been informed and shaped by some of the more sanguinary teachings of the Christian bible – I think I would prefer a Jedi>
I guess it would depend upon how that particular phrase is enacted in practice.
If it involved nurses prosetylising to patients then I would have professional and ethical objections to that. If it merely refers to “informing and shaping” the nurse then it could be argued that all they’re doing is teaching the nursing ethics component of the course in a slightly different way.
May the force be with you, Whitecoatman.
I think you’re right, Z, the Christian aspects of the course lead to a deeper understanding of the ethical and moral endeavour that nursing is. Sounds interesting to me.
My own experience of Christian nurses is variable. Some use their faith in the way you describe – as a moral base for their professional work. Others – generally those involved in the more floor-polishing, speaking in tongues, waving your hands about variety of Christianity – have been found preaching to patients in the day room and sitting in judgement on gay and lesbian people.
As a newcomer to this forum, I hesitate to be provocative, but…
The Christian view of ethics and morals will undoubtedly be studied deeply, but this is not the only valid viewpoint, and I wonder how much the views of people of other, and no, faiths will be considered if they differ. People could end up with a very one sided view. Possibly a wider approach would be better?
As an atheist I obviously think that all religions are mistaken, but have known many religious staff of different faiths whom I have respected enormously. However I can’t help wondering if they are caring people and excellent nurses BECAUSE of their religion, or whether they would be equally so without a religious belief.
I suspect the former rather than the latter. Religious belief offers a complete framework for understanding life, other people and your role in the world in a way that no other belief system does. I think it’s inarguable that religious belief leads people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.
This is why it annoys me when militant atheists compare religious belief to believing in fairies at the bottom of the garden.
I don’t want to get into an argument about religion (there are other forums (fora?) for this), so I will just agree to disagree with beakie’s statement about the advantages of a religious belief, although I certainly agree that religious belief leads people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.
I would never make the comparison with believing in fairies.
I find militant atheists want it both ways – they want to credit religious belief with making people do bad things, but not with making people do good things.
I left AA because I felt that “spirituality” was being forced upon me.
However, I do rely on the support and true blue friendship of an aquaintance who has a deep religious faith and prays for me regularly.
Just to add – if a mental health profession tried to offer me religion as a solution to my problems, I’d be very wary. I’d also feel very vulnerable.
My final comment on this topic would be to point out that when I am told by Christian evangelists of all the good that comes of their belief, and I point out evil things that professed Christians have done, I am always informed that they were not *true* Christians. It seems that the militants on both sides want it both ways. I do not think that this helps anyone.
Of course, one could point out that most of the worst things in history (the Holocaust, the various Soviet atrocities, the Cambodian genocide and so on) have been committed by people of no religious faith.
Beakie said: “suspect the former rather than the latter. Religious belief offers a complete framework for understanding life, other people and your role in the world in a way that no other belief system does.”
So if you don’t follow a religion, you don’t fully understand life ? You’re not a caring person?
From what Beakie said, I understood he used the word “framework”. Not suggesting that people without beliefs are not understanding or caring, but someone with a religious belief has a structure to work by or refer to.
Of course I am sure beakie could articulate what he means far better than me!
Lou – azulinebloo has hit the nail on the head.
Thanks!
I wasn’t going to comment any further on this, but beakie’s comment about atrocities needs commenting on.
Firstly, the Holocaust was planned by a certain Adolf Hitler, who was not only a Roman Catholic who never renounced his beliefs, but on several occasions during the 1940′s is recorded as stating that the Final Solution was his way of serving God’s purposes.
Secondly, the various historical atrocities commited by Christians (The Inquisition, witch burnings, the Thirty Years War(by both sides), the Arab invasion of Spain) happened BECAUSE of the religious beliefs of the perpetrators. The Cambodian Genocide, Stalinist purges, etc, were not commited BECAUSE the monsters involved were atheists, or at least I do not know of any evidence to show that their actions were CAUSED by lack of belief in a deity.
Remember my wondering if people did good things AND they were religious, or BECAUSE they were religious? If you argue BECAUSE they were religious, you are stuck with accepting the evil which religious belief can also cause. To argue otherwise would be trying to have it both ways.
I think that there are good and bad people of all beliefs, and none, and if a reason is needed for their actions, either good or bad, then one will be found.
Sorry about the rant. I will now take a Lorazepam and go and lie down.
Ooops, sorry. The Arab invasion of Spain was, of course, a Moslem project, but still religiously inspired.
Hi Beakie
Yep, got the framework bit. Although I was more interested in your response to Whitecoatman’s, “However I can’t help wondering if they are caring people and excellent nurses BECAUSE of their religion, or whether they would be equally so without a religious belief.”
Your reply was “I suspect the former”, which makes me assume that your view is that “they are caring people and excellent nurses BECAUSE of their religion.”
Which suggests that the faifhless unwashed are are somehow “incomplete” or “lacking.” Which really pisses me off.
It reminds me of women banging on about childless women don’t experience real love and fulfilment until they pop out their first placenta. That it isn’t possible to be to reach personal fulfilment unless you’re up to your eyeballs in baby puke.
If someone has faith, that’s fucking brilliant. I’m happy for everyone who has God to chat to, instead of the Samaritans. Just don’t tell me my life has less of a “Framework” or a “belief system” to refer to.
Whitecoatman – the Holocaust was not a Christian endeavour. It was not motivated by religion, but by racism. Hitler was only nominally a Catholic and I can’t imagine you’ll find any record of him claiming the Final Solution was God’s work, as you’ll find no record of Hitler even knowing about the Final Solution.
At least some of the excesses of the Soviet Union were motivated by atheism – their persecution of Christians and other religious people for instance.
I accept that religious belief can make people do both good and bad things, but folk like Dawkins put forward the idea that religion is some kind of unique evil, which is utter nonsense.
Lou – that’s not what I’m suggesting at all.
Beakie,
It appears that I have misunderstood you. Apologies.
“We were convinced that the people need and require this faith. We have therefore undertaken the fight against the atheistic movement, and that not merely with a few theoretical declarations: we have stamped it out. ”
- Adolf Hitler, Speech in Berlin, October 24, 1933
Doesn’t sound like an atheist to me.
I think the point I have, perhaps clumsily, been trying to make is that the extremists at both ends of the belief spectrum annoy the other camp. Religious militants do to me what it seems Richard Dawkins does to you – it really annoys me to be told (as I have been) that I am evil and immoral, have no purpose in life and will suffer everlasting torment.
Also, I don’t think that having a religious belief gives a person a more complete framework for looking at life than not having one, just perhaps a different one.
I think it was GK Chesterton who said that when people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing, they believe in everything. Given the decline in belief in God and the rise in belief in a whole range of New Age boswellox such as crystal healing, colour therapy, indigo children and angel channeling, he was bang on the money.
America seems to have had an increase in both. There is also an increase in people who have no belief in any god, or any kind of boswellox (I love that word).
Many Americans believe George Bush speaks sense!