Kirkton speaks on health care at Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical March 11

GOSHEN, Ind. — From gene therapy to health equity, Professor of Nursing Vicky Kirkton will address the pitfalls and possibilities involved in integrating sophisticated technology into daily medical practice in her Afternoon Sabbatical, “Health Care’s Future: The Impact of Scientific Discoveries and Technology in Practice” at 1 p.m. March 11 in the the new Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.

“Medical technology has advanced so rapidly that what we’ve learned and created bypasses what we can comprehend or anticipate,” said Kirkton. Drawn from her clinical experience and research, Kirkton’s presentation will ask how health practitioners can balance life-saving technologies with ethical concerns.

In addition to touching on subjects from cloning to complementary therapies, she will also speak about health equity and the distribution of our health dollars. “We have plenty of government money to do research, but we haven’t learned how to manage distribution and so we’ve run into problems with managed care and insurance,” she said. And with 65 to 70 percent of health care dollars spent in the last 30 days of life, Kirkton believes we need to re-examine the ways we employ life-prolonging technologies. 

Ultimately, Kirkton believes that the primary goal is quality health care for all, yet knowing where to draw the fine line between technology and holistic care is a difficult process. “The responsibility of balancing technology falls to more than just the government,” she said. “Every health care provider needs to be involved.”

With her nursing students at Goshen College, Kirkton is already addressing the pros and cons of rapidly expanding medical advancements. “We teach students how to adapt to change and learn about new technologies, yet first and foremost we teach them to be advocates for their patients,” she said.  In addition to clinical experience, nursing students host an annual mock convention, a simulated learning experience where they pose solutions to current health care problems. 

The Afternoon Sabbatical series was established 24 years ago by a group of persons who felt the community should have access to the wealth of knowledge and talent offered by Goshen College faculty members. For more information, or to be placed on the college relations mailing list, call the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566.

The final 2002-03 Afternoon Sabbatical lecture is:

April 8 – “Kiwis and Kangaroos: New Zealand and Australia luncheon and travelogue,” with President Emeritus Victor Stoltzfus, Director of Special Events Janette Yoder and Associate Director Emeritus of College Relations Gordon Yoder.

Goshen College is a national liberal arts college known for leadership in international education, service-learning and peace and justice issues in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program and exceptional educational value, GC serves about 1,000 students in both traditional and nontraditional programs. The college earned citations of excellence among U.S.News & World Report, Yahoo! and Barron’s Best Buys in Higher Education. For more information, visit www.goshen.edu/.

– Jessica Yoder

Editors: For information, contact Jodi Hochstedler at jodih@goshen.edu or (574) 535-7572.

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