In essence, the authors are forcing all nursing students and those who practice nursing today to understand that because of overblown "materialistic values, environmental sustainability, technology, clashes between societies" and global conflicts, the role of nurses has changed drastically, thus requiring some type of instruction on these and other topics (2005, pg. 153).
In addition, the authors maintain that nursing students of today and in the near future must extend their empathy "from a relatively passive, cognitive level to one of active, affective engagement" which in the end will result in engendered caring and move "the consideration of global conflict and war into a personal, relational context" (2005, pg. 154). One important way to accomplish this goal in relation to a classroom setting would be to compose a personal narrative on the events of September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was destroyed by an alleged terrorist organization, being Al Queda. Hopefully, as a result of writing this narrative, nursing students will come to realize "the fragility of life, the precarious nature of world peace and the desire to resolve conflicts" in ways never considered before (2005, pg. 154).
Thus, by creating a personal, empathic view of the world, nursing students will be able to "deepen their appreciation for the interconnectedness of all life on the planet and for the nature of health as a complex phenomenon," one made increasingly complicated by advances in
154).
The authors then sum up quite effectively their arguments pertaining to creating a new type of classroom experience for all present and future nurses. When this article was published in 2005, the authors had apparently already made some evaluations about their proposed course, for they include a number of comments from potential students. For example, one of the potential students remarks that she was "encouraged to go beyond in nursing, to see further, care deeper" as a result of participating in a group that evaluated the overall course curriculum and its
teaching methodologies. Another student responded that "I found myself questioning world events and how they affect global health" which gave her "a broader perspective on the world and the issues" that affect health care, both in today's world and in the future (2005, pgs. 155-56).
Certainly, the foundational goal of the author's new course Nursing in the Global Context can be summed up by quoting another potential student who stated "The intellectual stimulation was what I appreciated. I liked being challenged to think in a way I had not thought before" (2005, 156). The key word here is "think," meaning that because of the way the world is made up today, most young nursing students (and perhaps most students in all other fields of study) do not know how to "think" objectively nor abstractedly and see the problems in other parts of the world as out of their control or beyond their capacity to help. However, such is not the case, for the authors are convinced that their new nursing course, if adopted by every
nursing school in the world, will force students to become "fully engaged in addressing crucial global questions," thus making them able to "understand the choices that must be made" to save mankind from himself (2005, pg. 156).
Bibliography
Johnston, Nancy, Rogers, Martha, Cross, Nadine & Anne Sochan. (May/June 2005). "Global and Planetary Health:…
