Assignment Summary

1) In Spirituality in Nursing, by Dr. O’Brien, read chapters 9 and 10, pages 179 – 225.  

 The titles of these chapters are: “Spiritual Needs of Children and Families” and “Spiritual Needs of the Older Adult”

2) View Videos #1 and 2 in Video Portlet #1: Dealing with faith and loss in a family setting & Relationship between Aging and Spirituality.

3)  In Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, by Dr. Purnell, read about people with a Hindu Heritage and people with a Hmong Heritage, pages 186 – 214, 2nd edition OR pages 219 – 249, 3rd edition.

4) View Videos #1 and #2 in Video Portlet #2 to help you gain greater understanding of people with a Hindu Heritage and a Hmong heritage.

*Note when reading words that describe the spirituality of Hindu people:  Their belief in a supreme god is not the same belief as that in the One, True God and Creator, spoken of in the Bible.  Many scholars confirm that the supreme god for Hindus is a primary god among an array of many gods.  Sadly, our text book by Purnell does not clarify this properly.  We have to be careful not to project Biblical beliefs onto interpreting the views of Hindus, which Purnell did.   It is important to keep this difference in mind – out of respect for where Hindu people are coming from in their own cultural and religious understandings.  Thus, the correct way to refer to the supreme god of the Hindus – grammatically – is to continue the use of a small g, when referring to their supreme god – in their array of gods – since Hindus do not believe in the One, True God and Creator, revealed in the Bible.  Sorry that our textbook by Purnell fails to clarify this – it is a weakness in the textbook.

A further teaching on this subject in general: As a point of both grammar and theology, whenever we are writing about the One, True God, Creator of all that exists, as revealed in the Bible, we capitalize the word God.  When a small g, god, is used, this refers to fallen angels, aka, demons or forces in nature, which are not the One, True God and Creator, revealed in the Bible.  So – it is important to choose your words carefully, when writing to say what you mean and mean what you say.

5) In Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, by Dr. Purnell, read about people with a Japanese Heritage and people with a Jewish Heritage, pages 252 – 281, 2nd Edition OR pages 266 – 298, 3rd edition.

6) View Videos #3, 4 and 5 in Video Portlet #2 to help you gain greater understanding of people with a Japanese and a Jewish heritage.

Question 1:  Regarding our Unit 4 assigned reading, chapter 9, on the Spiritual Needs of Children and Families:

     a) Name and discuss 3 insights or learnings that you gained  from our readings this week in chapter 9 that you think will be helpful to your work in healthcare?

     b)  Do you have any examples from your work in health care, thus far, that shed greater light on what we are discussing in this unit regarding the spiritual needs of children and families?  If so, please share one with us!

    c) What did you gain, both personally and/or professionally, from the video #1,  in video portlet #1, on dealing with a situation of loss in a family setting?

 Question 2:  Regarding our Unit 4 assigned reading, chapter 10, on the Spiritual Needs of the Older Adult: 

  a) Name and discuss 3 insights or learnings that you gained from our readings this week in chapter 10 that you think will be helpful to your work in healthcare?

     b) Do you have any examples from your work in health care, thus far, that shed greater light on what we are discussing in this unit regarding the spiritual needs of older adults?   If so, please share one with us!

     c) Name and discuss at least 2 insights that you found especially helpful regarding the discussion about aging and spirituality that you gained from  video #2 in video portlet #1 on this topic?  Why were these insights helpful to you?

Question 3:  Regarding People with a Hindu Heritage:

  From our assigned reading in Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, about persons with a Hindu Heritage, coupled with the accompanying video, what key points got raised for you? How might these apply to the healthcare setting? What questions are you left with?  Are there any insights about the spirituality of this group that you felt were missing from the text’s consideration and that you would like to add for our class learning and discussion?

Question 4:  Regarding People with a Hmong Heritage:

  From our assigned reading in Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, about persons with a Hmong Heritage, coupled with the accompanying video, what key points got raised for you? How might these apply to the healthcare setting? What questions are you left with?  Are there any insights about the spirituality of this group that you felt were missing from the text’s consideration and that you would like to add for our class learning and discussion?

Question 5:  Regarding People with a Japanese Heritage:

  From our assigned reading in Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, about persons with a Japanese Heritage, coupled with the accompanying videos, what key points got raised for you? How might these apply to the healthcare setting? What questions are you left with?  Are there any insights about the spirituality of this group that you felt were missing from the text’s consideration and that you would like to add for our class learning and discussion?

Question 6:  Regarding People with a Jewish Heritage:

  From our assigned reading in Guide to Culturally Competent Health Care, about persons with a Jewish Heritage, coupled with the accompanying video, what key points got raised for you? How might these apply to the healthcare setting? What questions are you left with?  Are there any insights about the spirituality of this group that you felt were missing from the text’s consideration and that you would like to add for our class learning and discussion?