Greater Minnesota students prepare to serve grieving patients, families
The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University trained nursing students how to care for dying patients and their families.
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Nervous chatter filled the room as dozens of undergraduate nursing students from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University sat in pre-briefing rooms waiting to enter a hospital room simulation.
In groups of three, students left to participate in a mock scenario where they learned how to best provide care in some of the gravest times of their future patients' lives.
The nursing department held the end-of-life simulation training for their undergraduate nursing students on Wednesday, March 26, to engage with patients and their loved ones from three different cultures, religions, and identities.
Typically, these types of simulations are conducted for medical training. This time, students got to focus more on the emotional and cultural differences of patients they may encounter in the medical field.
The end-of-life scenarios included common rituals and practices of people in the Somali Muslim, Indigenous, and Caucasian Catholic communities. This is the first year the colleges included such customs in the scenarios. The nursing program received funding from the Morgan Family Foundation to conduct the simulations, which were spearheaded by nursing graduate student Jodi Olson.
After the simulations were completed, students reflected on how to provide the best care for their patients and common themes developed: every patient is different, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
This photo essay was edited by Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten.
It is part of Project Optimist’s series on End-of-Life planning. The series is supported by a grant from the Morgan Family Foundation.