In the children’s ward at the Salvation Army Hospital at Chikankata Mission in rural Zambia, a five-year-old burn victim cries in pain as his wound dressing is changed. Around an old iron bed in the sparsely furnished ward, several TWU nursing students blow bubbles and sing silly songs to help take his mind off his discomfort. The boy’s eyes wrinkle at the corners, his tears stop, and his mouth curves into a smile. Soon, he’s laughing at the antics of the strangers from Canada.
Distraction or play therapy is often used in conjunction with pharmaceutical treatments for pain management in North America. But in Zambia, where resources — including pain medications — are scarce, the technique proved a valuable tool for the group of 19 students who, along with assistant professors, Heather Meyerhoff, MSN, and Darlane Pankratz, MSN, were able to demonstrate its effectiveness to Zambian nursing students during their travel study trip to the country last May.
TWU's nursing program is the only faith-based nursing program in Canada.
For third-year nursing student, Kelly Schooten, the three-week Transcultural Nursing course was an incredible opportunity. “I learned a great deal about community development, stewardship of resources, and joy in serving the Lord,” she says. “Because of the shortage of pain medication, I saw the value of distraction techniques and other comfort measures for my patients.”
In addition to serving at the hospital, the students assisted in rural areas, where they helped with immunization clinics, and facilitated educational clinics on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, simple first-aid, and pre- and neo-natal care. A number volunteered at Muka Buumi Clinic — Chikankata’s HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic. “Students saw people of all ages and backgrounds — young children, mothers, the elderly — lined up all day for treatment and counseling,” says Meyerhoff.
In many countries, including Zambia, there is a stigma attached to HIV/AIDS patients, so that, says Pankratz, “They receive only the most basic care. But we teach our students to regard each human being as God’s creation, and make a covenant to care for patients — mind, body, and spirit — as Jesus would.”
That spiritual aspect of care was illustrated at Chikankata Hospital when the students held a small birthday party for Anister, a dying 21-year-old HIV/AIDS patient. The fragile young woman — who once dreamed of becoming a nurse herself — lay on threadbare hospital sheets, wearing an oxygen tube. She asked the students to sing “Blessed Be Your Name.” Fighting tears, they complied; most of them were the same age as she. “During the week our students asked Anister about her dreams, prayed with her, and laughed with her. That’s an example of covenantal care,” says Pankratz.
God's School
Since its inception in 1993, TWU’s nursing program has turned out well-rounded, caring graduates — highly sought after by employers. And now, 16 years of dedication, hard work, and prayers have culminated in the renowned program officially becoming the School of Nursing.
“This is the Lord’s school,” says the new dean of the School, Landa Terblanche, Ph.D., “and the fulfillment of the longterm dream of many people. The School now houses TWU’s undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees, with several Ph.D.-prepared faculty who teach at both levels.”
Along with its new status, the School launched its distinctive Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree in August, with 22 exceptional nurses — including a recent TWU grad — enrolled for the inaugural semester.
Students are encouraged to integrate all aspects of faith with their nursing studies for a truly transformative life experience.
The program emphasizes spiritual-intellectual integration; offers a mixed-delivery format — two campus-based courses followed by online-delivery of the remaining courses; and includes a one-week health policy course at TWU’s Laurentian Leadership Centre in Ottawa.
“TWU’s nursing program is the only faith-based program in Canada,” says Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Associate Professor and recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant to examine the role of spirituality in today’s health care system. “Students are encouraged to integrate all aspects of faith with their studies for a truly transformative life experience.”
Exciting programs — like the new MSN and travel study courses — coupled with the sense of community and vision for excellence in education and scholarship, draw not only quality students, but also top-notch faculty members to the University. “Faculty members often feel a sense of calling to this place — that there’s something they can uniquely contribute at this point in the University’s history,” says Associate Professor, Sonya Grypma, Ph.D. “Having a common foundation of faith with colleagues and students is highly unusual and incredibly inspiring.”
In addition to quality instruction, students benefit from early clinical placements — typically in the second semester of the first year — through which they gain valuable, hands-on experience in a number of settings, from hospitals to schools, to an innovative opportunity with the Kwantlen First Nation Reserve. These early placements result in students who are confident in a variety of clinical settings.
“Employers of our graduates often say, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing at TWU, but whatever it is, keep doing it,’” says Terblanche. “With our small class sizes, we’re able to focus on students. We want to ensure they receive not only the best instruction, but also the best clinical placements.”
Spiritual Care
In the first of two rooms set up for a Widow’s Tea, students serve tea and scones to a Zambian woman burdened by the loss of her spouse. In the second, a student soaks and massages another woman’s cracked, calloused feet and hands, then paints her fingernails bright red. At another station, several more women listen intently as students teach on hypertension, diabetes, and stress-management. In all, 27 women from the Naomi Group — a community support group for widows — participated. “What we prepared was pretty simple,” says Meyerhoff, “but these women were incredibly grateful for it. At the end, many of them shared with us that they felt loved in a way they hadn’t since the loss of their husbands. The connection between the young nursing students and these older women crossed cultures and generations in a profound way.”
HIV/AIDS has made widows of many Zambian women who are often left to care for children not their own. “One grandmother might be responsible for 10 to 12 grandchildren or more,” Meyerhoff says. “We wanted to bless these widows, who have no one to care for them.”
For Schooten, it was an opportunity to serve more than tea and scones. “I sang, washed feet, painted toe nails, giggled, encouraged, prayed, and celebrated with the most incredible women I’ve ever met,” she says.
Having a common foundation of faith with colleagues and students is highly unusual and incredibly inspiring.
No student remains unchanged after an experience such as this. “Transformational learning occurs during these travel studies,” says Pankratz. “The many challenges like living in close community with other students, practicing team building and leadership skills, grasping how the essence of nursing can still exist when supplies are almost non-existent, and managing the visible and audible sounds of death and loss, penetrate deep into the students’ ethical and spiritual being. The learning opportunity isn’t limited to the hours spent in the hospital or community — it’s in the lived experience, walking alongside a people group who demonstrate courage and resiliency in the midst of minimal resources and great challenges.”
Through unique experiences — in classrooms, clinical placements, and international settings — TWU’s nursing students learn more than just excellent nursing skills. “We teach covenantal care,” says Terblanche. “That’s our philosophy — and our privilege.”
by Wendy Delamont Lees
illustration by Andrea Smith
Back to Top Table of Contents