Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Goshen College nurses to discuss being gatekeepers for
health care during annual mock convention Feb.
10
GOSHEN, Ind. – During their 35th annual Nursing Mock
Convention Feb. 10, Goshen College nursing students and faculty
will debate and vote on some of the more controversial subjects in
the field of nursing, giving the students real-world experience
outside of a hospital setting.
The daylong, on-campus convention, beginning at 8:45 a.m. on
Feb. 10, is designed to help students tackle tough yet relevant
topics in the field of nursing. Former Goshen College Professor of
Nursing Fran Wenger will give the keynote address, “Nursing:
Gatekeeper for health care.” The convention will be held in
the Church Fellowship Hall.
Wenger, who taught at Goshen from 1962 to 1990 and was director
of nursing, has built programs that study and make links between
public health, medicine and theology at Emory University’s
School of Public Health and the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.
“Transcultural nursing” has been a particular focus of
her research and work and she has served as president of the
Transcultural Nursing Society.
Following Wenger’s morning keynote address, the convention
will be opened for debate on the resolutions submitted by groups of
students: adolescent sexual health and confidentiality, bilingual
issues and assisted suicide. Students, following correct
parliamentary procedure, will take turns carefully and thoughtfully
expressing their opinions to the convention chair.
Associate Professor of Nursing Mervin Helmuth, who helped
initiate the mock convention program in 1973, said, “The
purpose of the debate is to make students take a stand,” he
said. “It has less to do with getting a resolution passed,
and more that students are willing to get up and speak their piece.
In this way they get involved in the bigger gray areas of the issue
and don’t get lost in the details of black and
white.”
The resolutions, voted on in parliamentary fashion, serve as a
stimulus to the students to make their convictions heard.
“The idea is to not only to present nursing students new
ideas, but also engage them in a process on the issues and then
follow-up on them by talking to legislators to affect change. This
is the same thing we do with the American Nurses’
Association,” said Helmuth, who serves as vice president of
the Indiana State Board of Nursing.
Another purpose of the mock convention was to offer students the
opportunity to meet people from different health-care
organizations. Many local organizations came to observe the
convention and advertised in hopes of hiring new nurses, much like
at a professional nursing convention.
Goshen College's annual Mock Convention is an activity that is
unique to the college and significantly contributes to student
participation in professional nursing organizations. Goshen College
nursing alumni have a 41 percent membership in their professional
organizations compared to the national rate of 20
percent.
In 1953, Goshen College graduated its first
class of nurses, after starting the first bachelor's of science in
nursing program in Indiana in 1949. In the 53 years since, more
than 1,600 graduates have responded to the call to nursing by
earning a bachelor's degree at Goshen College.
Editors: For more information about this release or to arrange an interview, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.
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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential
Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite
tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values –
passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking
and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the
church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term
program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in
Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of
Distinction,” Making a Difference College Guide”
and U.S.News & World Report’s
“America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named
Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.