“I’d love all nurses to have a week like this!”
This comment from MSN student and critical care nurse, Amy Dirksen, reflects the value of stepping away from the immediacies of one’s day-to-day world to refresh oneself through contemplation, study, and relaxation. During a 5-day retreat course (April 16 – 20, 2018) at a beautiful ocean-front Retreat Centre on Keats Island, graduate students completed a 3-semester hour course. Our launch point for the memorable week was TWU Richmond, with an orientation to a Highway to Heaven tour. We visited the Vedic Cultural Centre, the Nanaksar Sikh Gurdwara, the Ling Yen Mountain Temple (Buddhist), and a Shia Mosque. At each place of worship, we were met by a guide who spoke with us about the tradition’s view of illness and suffering, the place of the faith community in response, and implications for care of the hospitalized. Throughout the week, we engaged in deep conversations about how to make healthcare inclusive and person-centred, and how to care for the self while being witness to suffering and pain. A film study (God on Trial) focused on existential questions and theological explanations to suffering. Bringing the mind, body, and emotions together, the Retreat also involved exploration of contemplative practices. Joyce Braun, herself a spiritual director and retreat facilitator, led us through various exercises intended to deepen self-awareness and spiritual health.
In response to Canada’s diverse society, the intent of this graduate course NURS 607 is to provide the student opportunities to explore how religious, spiritual and theological perspectives shape experiences of health, illness and human suffering, with applications to spiritual caregiving and self-care practices of the helping professional. The novelty (and relevance) of the course lies in its retreat approach, and its interdisciplinary approach to spirituality. Health studies, philosophy, theology, psychology and sociology informed the design of the course, enabling us to think more broadly about social change in Canada, more strategically about organizational responses to religion and spiritualty in healthcare settings, and more thoughtfully about how to support wellbeing and resilience for those working in high intensity, rapidly changing healthcare settings. A similar course will be offered as an elective for undergraduate nursing students in 2018/2019.
