by Brenna Zuranski, Student Public Relations Writer
Two hundred Cedarville University students will spend Friday, Aug. 25 learning the “Saline Process” at a one-day interprofessional collaborative course. The course will be taught in the Stevens Student Center. The Saline Process is a training program that provides practical tools to help Christian health care professionals share their faith with patients, all with permission, sensitivity and respect.
International Health Services (IHS) Global developed the course to train Christian health care workers how to care for patients’ spiritual needs. The program’s name comes from saline (or water containing salt), the IV solution administered to rehydrate patients and maintain water and salt levels. The Saline Process provides resources to be salt (saline) and light for Jesus while treating the whole person.
“This training helps us know where our patients are spiritually and equips us with vital tools that work and help people overcome barriers to being a witness in the workplace,” said Dr. Angelia Mickle, dean of the school of nursing and one of 17 certified trainers for the course at Cedarville University.
Students will participate in interactive role play and discussion throughout the course. Role play demonstrates how an encounter with a patient can go well or poorly, depending on the patient’s response. To know where the patient is spiritually, students will refer to the Engel Scale, representing the journey from no knowledge of God to spiritual maturity as a Christian believer.
The course involves evidence-based research and answers five questions: 1. Why is faith important to health care? 2. What are the opportunities for and barriers to fulfilling God’s call? 3. What is my part? 4. What tools will help me to cultivate, sow and harvest? 5. Where do I go from here?
Sophomore nursing students and third-year professional pharmacy students are required to attend the event, which is also open to allied health, psychology and premed students.
“By the end of the course, I hope students become empowered with the ability and confidence to infuse the Saline Process in their interactions within their discipline,” said Mickle. “We are the ones cultivating and sowing, while God is the harvester.”
For more information about the Saline Process, visit https://ihsglobal.org/salineprocess.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.