Nurses Christian Fellowship International Conference Days 4 & 5

Tomorrow we fly home, but what an exciting week we’ve all had!!! We have greatly appreciated the opportunity of being here and would definitely recommend that everyone come along to the Regional NCFI conference in Madrid in 2014, and the next NCFI conference in 2016 (venue tbc!).

This week Tim and Rose have been attending the leadership track, looking at the leader as shepherd, servant, scholar and steward. Dr Sue Allen (UK) and Dr Kamilini Kumar (USA) taught from the Leadership course that they have developed for nurses exploring the essential leadership role from a Christian perspective.

The excursion took place yesterday and was a wonderful time to relax and see some of the sights of Santiago.
The morning Bible studies have continued to be excellent, challenging and inspiring us to be more Christ like in our nursing practice as well as in our daily lives. Today we were looking at John 4v1-7, where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well. The focus was particularly on verse 7 where Jesus asks the woman for a drink as He is thirsty. Focusing on this specific request led us to question how we can serve Christ by meeting the needs of those we come into contact with, in line with the verse from Matthew 25 v 40 “...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me”.

The UK has been represented well by excellent seminars by Jo Caisley, Tony Kemp, Huw Morgan and Steve Fouch. Jo presented on wise and responsible stewardship in healthcare. Tony and Huw represented PRIME speaking on disaster preparedness and partnerships in international medical education. Steve led two seminars, one on writing publications and challenges and opportunities with keeping the faith amongst nurses in the UK. All were well attended and received positive feedback – well done guys!

In addition Steve attended a three part training of trainers programme in teaching spiritual care from a Christian, nursing perspective. This programme has been developed by Amy Rex-Smith (USA), Tove Giske (Norway) and Grace Morillo (Colombia), and has been developed to equip trainers to help student and qualified nurses develop key skills in spiritual assessment, intervention and evaluation. We are already looking at how we might use both the leadership training and spiritual care training with members in the UK

Prof. Barbara Parfitt (Scotland) spoke on the last day on partnering with the world, using the WHO model (of Partnership through relevance, ownership and community engagement), in order to have a positive impact on global healthcare in the name of Christ.

Bishop Hector led us in Holy Communion to close, with a traditional Chilean evangelical call to worship... Who lives?JESUS!
to His name; GLORY!
to His people; VICTORY!

And on that note adios amigos!

Rosanne Ball

Nurses Christian Fellowship International Conference - Day 2 & 3

We have had another two exciting days out here in Chile; being inspired, challenged and enjoying multinational fellowship! Each morning we have enjoyed Bible studies. So far theses have been on Mark 2v1-12 and Mark 5v40-43, looking specifically at their implications for nurses.

God is so good at revealing in familiar passages new things that will change our practice. For example, in Mark 5v40 we looked at the way that Jesus cared for and involved families in His healing, and were challenged about whether we treat the families of our patients in the same way.

We then met together for professional plenaries, on Tuesday exploring the role of the nurse in partnering with God and on Wednesday exploring the role of nurses partnering with patients and their families. The two points that stood out were the importance of being yoked with Christ and therefore walking in step with Him, not rushing ahead or lagging behind but watching where He wants us to go and partnering with Him.

The second point was a reminder that we need to see our patients as children of God, remembering in our workplaces the verse “everything that you do for one of my little ones; you do it for me” (paraphrased).

This afternoon we went to visit a public hospital in Santiago, which was a fantastic opportunity to get a glimpse at how another country provides care. All the Staff at the hospital, including the patients and families were keen to welcome us and say hello. We were very impressed at the fingerprint recognition equipment used to log in and off shift, and received a talk from the Director of Medicine and saw videos about the evacuation of their hospital during the 2010 earthquake. It was interesting to note that the pressures we experience in the NHS, such as lack of beds, waiting times, particular winter illnesses and infection rates are just as much a problem in the Chile as they are in the UK. Other international delegates in our visiting party could also sympathise. It’s a worldwide challenge!

Right now we’re off to the Nursing Christian Fellowship International Forum – the slightly more boring but equally important part of the week!!!!

Rosanne Ball (CNM Member)

NCFI World Conference Day 1

The Chilean Way

TheNurses Christian Fellowship International conference began Tuesday (5thNovember) in Santiago, Chile, and for all of you reading this in the UnitedKingdom...it is hot here in Santiago with wonderful views of the Andes mountainrange.

Despitehaving only been to the Opening Ceremony today, we have already been blown awayby what we have heard and seen. The evening opened with an introduction by DrBarbara White (NCFI President), followed by a procession of the flagsrepresenting 350 delegates from over 30 nations. This reminded us that despiteall our different backgrounds and cultures we all had two things in common:Jesus & Nursing. Wow!

The moststriking part of the ceremony came straight away when Jose Alvear, director andpolitician from the Chilean Ministry of Health spoke of the need "to show Jesus in the midst of illness".This is so evident within Chilean healthcare that a law has recently beenpassed that states that every person has a right to spiritual care. Howmind-blowing is that?! In the UK it is common place to see spiritual care aspart of the nursing care plan for patients. However, it is not mandatory and inour experience is rarely seen being effectively put into practice. But we havejust heard a politician saying how important Jesus is in the midst of spiritualcare and that he recognises the effect of spirituality on patient recovery. WouldJeremy Hunt (Secretary of Health, UK), if he were a Christian, be able topublicly say the same?

Next weheard from Patricia Benner, author of the Novice to Expert, which has provideda model to many nursing institutions, across the world, with a tool to assesscompetency within nursing practice. Patricia spoke to us about the story of theGood Samaritan, challenging us to identify with the Samaritan and also thebeaten man in the pit. The importance of being a compassionate stranger in theimage of Jesus as the healer was very thought provoking as clinicians. Animportant point that Patricia made, which captured our minds was that if a nurse does not care about what thepatient cares about, then a patient will not feel cared for.

It's beena really exciting day...wish you all were here...we can't wait to update you onwhat God does the rest of this week.

Quote ofthe day: "We need to see that we are human beings helping other Human beings".

Written by: Rose Ball (CNM Member) & Tim James (CNMChairman). 

Nursing - Unchanging Values in a Changing World

A couple of months ago, a number of nurses met together at our regular London Refreshment Dinner where a retired nurse shared her experiences of nursing in the UK during the years of 1971 – 1996.

What was it like nursing in the 1970’s?

 I vividly remember my first day! On arrival a porter took my bags to my bedroom, where I found my uniform laid out on the bed. That first evening all ‘fresher nurses’  donned their uniforms and learnt how to make beds,  something that epitomized the apprentice training that we were about to undertake.

Another memory. The ward layout was different.  Most patients were nursed on Nightingale Wards. These wards had about 15 beds on either side, with the nurses’ station situated somewhere in the middle. Because of this layout, it was rare for a nurse not to be in the ward at all times. Added to this, there were no buzzers and so nurses were dependent on patients calling out for help or assessing a patient’s condition as they passed by.

Looking back – What ethos helped you care for patients in the 1970’s

Teamwork – Nurses worked closely together to get their work done. There was a camaraderie that said ‘that we could cope with anything as long as the team worked well together’!  On some wards, nurses were not able to go home at the end of their shift until all their colleagues had finished their work too. 

Authority and discipline. Sister was the person who took responsibility for overall patient care. This meant that as long as a student/nurse followed her instructions, they were free from fear of being disciplined.

Kindness and honouring patients. We were taught to treat patients as honoured guests. That somehow, the ward was seen as a place where nurses were ‘practicing hospitality’ and where kindness was practiced and encouraged.

Were there special moments?

There was a patient who had been unresponsive and unable to speak for many months due to a cerebral haemorrhage. On the day of Prince Charles's wedding to Diana, the ward was celebrating the occasion. The day-room had been decorated and patients and staff were all watching the event unfold on the television. This lady too had been wheeled into the day room. As she watched the television she was fairly unresponsive. Then she suddenly said ‘look there are the horses’. For me, that was one of my most precious moments.

Do you think it was easier to share your faith during your time nursing?

Yes, because people were more accepting of the Christian faith. In fact, in the hospital where I worked, prayers were said on the ward at 08:00 every morning.  I also had a time when I prayed with another Christian nurse who worked on the same ward. I believe that this led to opportunities to share faith with staff, patients and relatives.

Is there a specific example of you sharing your faith with a patient?   Yes. One patient came back from Easter day, and asked what it meant that Jesus had risen from the dead. I sat down and explained what the resurrection meant, and she wonderfully became a Christian! I do want to say, that opportunities like that were very rare.

  

What advice would you give to Christian nurses today?

Well, Nursing today is very different but God’s timeless truths are relevant for all Christian nurses at any time, any place! And so I want to leave you with two thoughts.

The first thought comes from 2 Thessalonians1:11 & 12.

In these verses Paul is praying for the Thessalonians who are going through a tough time because of their faith. And so he prays that they will continue to live Jesus’ way in hard times so that -  God would count Christians worthy of his calling.  This sounds like an impossibly high call to achieve doesn't it? But the truth is that we are not alone.

Paul continues teaching us that God is the one who will enable us to do this. It will be God who will give us the power to fulfil every good purpose and every act, as we are prompted by our faith. In a nursing context, this means that our faith in Jesus will prompt us to care for our patients and others (both in the little things and the big things) with Jesus in mind.  It might even mean going against the flow of popular opinion at times.  But whatever situation we find ourselves in, we can rely that God will give us all we need. 

Amazing!

As this happens, something will happen to us. The name of the Lord Jesus will be glorified in us and us in him.  In other words, what is at the very heart of Jesus, the beautiful, sacrificial heart of Jesus will shine in us, and furthermore we will know more and more that we are in Jesus. It is like a two way traffic. You see as Jesus shines in us so we know more and more that we are safe in Jesus.

What is more, Christians will know that they can take no credit for what happens, but that it is all due to the gift of on-going grace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When Paul’s prayer is answered in our lives, we as Christians can’t lose, and many others will gain!

Second thought. Your smile goes a long way!

Transforming Failure

John 21:1-19

How often do we feel that we have failed, that we haven't lived up to our own, other's or God's expectation of ourselves, and that we have disqualified ourselves from being of any use to others or to God as a consequence?  You may feel that constantly, or occasionally, or maybe regularly but fleetingly.  But we all feel it at one time or another.

John's story about the unexpected post-resurrection breakfast on the beach of Lake Gallilee is one of my favourite stories of an encounter with Jesus - there are so many things going on in this story, so many nuances and details that you could write a whole book just about these few verses - and I have no doubt someone somewhere already has!

Trying to get back to normal life, those disciples who came from a fishing background had gone back home to their old business, and were out fishing in the pre-dawn cool, when the fish were usually nearer the surface and easier to catch. Only today they weren't having much luck - the fish just weren't 'biting'.  Then an oddly familiar figure on the shore encourages them to try on the other side of the boat - a request that must have rung a few bells, because when the huge trawl of 153 fish comes in, John immediately realises it is Jesus, and the ever impetuous Peter pulls on his clothes and plunges in to swim and wade to shore.

Smell is amazing in its ability to trigger memory, and I am told that charcoal fires have a very distinctive smell.  The last time Peter stood around a charcoal fire it was in the courtyard of the High Priest's house in Jerusalem the night Jesus was arrested a few days  earlier.  The darkest night of Peter's life, when a quick succession of serving girls and others recognised him by face and accent as one of Jesus' disciples - and where in fear of his life he had denied that he even knew his master and best friend.  I wonder if that was in Jesus' mind as he cooked his breakfast over such a fire, triggering that recent, painful memory in Peter.

So, over a familiar fisherman's breakfast, Jesus spends time in with his old friends in a way that was so ordinary and normal it must have been hard for them to reconcile it with the amazing and awful events of the last week. Indeed, they really don't know what to say. While he bids them come and bring their fish to share in his breakfast, it seems he already had enough fish and bread there to feed all of them - he had come well prepared. He did not need their fish, but encouraged them to share with him anyway - it was a meeting of friends, peers, brothers, not a wealthy master sharing his favours with his poor servants.

Then Peter and Jesus go for a post breakfast stroll along the lake with young John in tow behind them - what Jesus has to say is for Peter alone.  I doubt Peter had, at this point anyway, shared with his fellow disciples his shame in disowning Jesus. I am sure that they were all probably feeling some of sense of having let their master down in his hour of greatest need. However, Jesus had no interest in humiliating Peter in front of his friends. Even so he asks three times if Peter loves him, and three times Peter affirms that he does, and three times Jesus commissions Peter to go and feed and care for his sheep - meaning his church, his people.  Three questions, three affirmations and three commissions to balance Peter's three denials. Jesus did not revisit what had gone before, he didn't turn it into a time for soul searching - he gave Peter a job to do.  Despite letting Jesus down badly, Jesus was giving him another chance.  Follow the story of Peter in Acts and the letters of Paul and you'll see he managed to blow his second and third chances as well, but each time God gave him another chance.

We set ourselves high standards - we have to, we are professionals on whom patients and colleagues rely. If we get it wrong, people suffer or even die. But even then, sometimes we get it wrong, and have to learn from our errors to do better next time.  As Christians we also want to be good examples - to show our colleagues and patients the love and character of Jesus in our attitudes, speech and actions, but sometimes we blow it - getting cross and short with people, back biting, or failing to show care because we are under pressure of time or targets.  Someone says 'call yourself a Christian?' after we say or do something in an ill judged moment, and we feel a huge sense of failure.

But Jesus isn't into making people feel bad, or wallowing in introspection and self-analysis.  He has a kingdom to build, and in the example of Peter we can see the sort of people he is building it with - people to make mistakes, who deny him when they are scared, who misunderstand his teaching or misapply it, but who love him and want to follow him despite (and maybe especially BECAUSE) of our failings.  He is not in the business of using perfect people, he is in the business of transforming sinners into his people and through us building his kingdom. That is a hard process, a slow process, but he does not give up on us, so we need to not give up on him.