Cedarville Magazine Fall 2022

She sees them anticipate patient needs and show compassion as Christ did. “I tell my students that my job is to help prepare them for professional practice and to set them up for success,” she said. “Watching them care with compassion and advocate for their patients in the clinical setting is so rewarding.” Martin invests in her students because of a higher calling. “Nursing is the platform the Lord has entrusted to me to use as ministry,” she explained. “I love being able to walk alongside our students and graduates as they care for their patients, some at the most vulnerable times of their lives, and be able to encourage them. “Hav ing former s tudent s become my professional peers and watching them is both humbling and a blessing.” CAREER FOR CHRIST After Irene Alyn established the cross- cultural nursing minor, Lois Baker served as the coordinator for 20 years. She led Cedarville nursing students on missions trips to Togo to provide healthcare to the underprivileged. She went the extra mile in teaching every student the most important lesson of all: Nursing is a ministry for Christ. “I saw Togolese patients transformed because students used nursing as ministry for Christ,” she said. “You go to Togo, and you see people who have so little, and we have so much. It really embeds in your mind how you have this opportunity to give to those in need. Yet, we have this incredible multicultural population in America. You don’t have to just go to a foreign country to use nursing as a ministry for Christ.” According to Baker, students were prepared to arrive in Togo and immediately begin serving. “The missionary staff are tired; our students were not just to look and observe,” she said. “They knew how to give medicines, start an IV, and help in surgery. They were prepared to get dressed, get their shoes on, and get right in the middle of everything.” Before traveling to Africa, students were taught about common diseases, such as malaria and typhoid, that are not typically found in the United States; about culture, such as not approaching a Togolese patient with the left hand, which was considered dirty; about the people, whether they were friendly to strangers and friendly to Americans; and about the nature of public health and the rate of vaccination. “You can still show the love of Christ, without knowing the language,” Baker said. “We were able to see the unbelievable happen. Complex surgical patients who should not have survived. Babies with an APGAR of zero, and you’re crying out to God, ‘Use my brain, my eyes, my fingers; use what I know to help this baby.’ “Our students didn’t go to be changed, but to see that those receiving care were changed. Because nursing is a ministry for Christ.” Sandlund, Martin, and Baker answer the “why” behind nursing education. It is not merely a profession; it is not just a calling. It’s a sacrifice for Jesus Christ. Clem Boyd is Director of Public Relations for Infinity Concepts and former Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine . Our students didn’t go to be changed, but to see that those receiving care were changed. Because nursing is a ministry for Christ. Cedarville Magazine | 19