A model for incorporating faith, values, and ethics into a healthcare provider course

Faith, values, and ethics are critical for all individuals to learn, but especially healthcare providers. Here, we report on the development of a course focused on these topics at a private Christian college of pharmacy. The course utilized a longitudinal approach combined with three overarching and connected course themes to explore the merging of faith and professional practice. Students were engaged in learning using a combination of approaches including guest presenters, panel discussions, interactive interviews, and small group discussions. This course provides a model for discussing faith, values, and ethics in the context of healthcare education.

We want connection and we do not mean wi-fi: examining the impacts of Covid-19 on Gen Z’s work and employment outcomes

Purpose This study aims to examine how members of Gen Z are impacted by Covid-19, specifically focusing on their professional opportunities, work preferences and future outlook. Design/methodology/approach A survey consisting of 24 questions including a Likert scale, multiple choice and open-ended was created to understand how members of Gen Z perceive Covid-19 impacting their education, employment, mental health and relationships. The survey was disseminated to employees of a corporate restaurant franchise, Christian college admissions and guidance non-profit, and online through social media including Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and LinkedIn. A total of 517 respondents completed the survey. Survey participants came from 29 states and 6 countries. Findings Results highlight Gen Z overwhelmingly values interpersonal connections, wants to Zoom less and work more in-person. The findings help anticipate potential professional gaps due to Covid-19 restrictions, as well as point out how Gen Z is markedly different in terms of workforce trends. Content analysis from an open-ended question reveals the extent of disruption Gen Z has experienced, adversely affecting their career plans and stalling professional development. Yet, despite these setbacks, Gen Z maintains a cautiously optimistic future outlook. Research limitations/implications Limitations to the study include the sample is largely comprising White women so the generalizability of results may be limited and the self-reporting nature of the survey may pose problems with method variance. Practical implications These findings have implications for Millennials as managers as they identify where resources should be invested including strengthening interpersonal communication skills, providing mentoring opportunities and appealing to their financial conservatism to recruit and retain Gen Z employees. The changes in telecommuting preferences and desire for more interpersonal and in-person communication opportunities highlight how Gen Z is markedly different than previous generations. Social implications Gen Z’s optimistic future outlook conveys a sense of resilience and strength in the face of stress. Rather than engaging in cognitive distortions and over generalizations when stressed, results show Gen Z is able to find healthy alternatives and maintain optimism in the face of stress. Additionally, due to the extent of isolation and loneliness Gen Zers reported, the value of in-person connections cannot be overstated. As results convey a sense of being overlooked and missing out on so many rites of passage, inviting Gen Zers to share how they have been impacted, recognizing their accomplishments and listening to them may go a long way to develop rapport. Originality/value This study differs from others because it takes a generational look at Covid-19 impacts. The qualitative nature allows us to hear from members of Gen Z in their own words, and as a generational cohort, their voices inform workplace attitudes, practices and managerial procedures.

Back to Noah Porter’s Yale

Yale under President Noah Porter in the post–Civil War decades illustrates the problems in trying to retain the old-time college ideal and a distinctly Christian viewpoint in the age of Darwinian science and the rise of the modern university. The most notorious challenge that Porter faced was that posed by a leading professor, William Graham Sumner. Sumner was an agnostic ex-clergyman, and a social Darwinist, and wanted to use Herbert Spencer’s The Study of Sociology as a textbook. Porter tried to disallow that text. At the time of the controversy, Porter specifically reiterated his the idea of a “Christian College” in a speech at Wellesley College. Wellesley had strong evangelical connections, and the new women’s colleges emphasized building Christian moral character. Porter hoped for the same for men’s colleges. But his arguments for Christian perspectives did not stand against more inclusive scientifically based university ideals. So the agnostic Sumner stayed at Yale.

Religious affiliation and suicidality among college students in China: A cross-sectional study across six provinces

Background Several past studies indicated that religious beliefs, orientation, and practice are protective of suicide. Findings from recent studies in China suggest that religiosity may contribute to increased suicidality. However, few studies have examined the associations between religious affiliation across different faiths and suicidality in China. Objective The current study examines the association between religious affiliation and suicidality among college students in six provinces in China. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 11,407 college students from six universities in Ningxia, Shandong, Shanghai, Jilin, Qinghai, and Shaanxi. We collected the data between October 2017 and March 2018 using self-report questionnaires. They included self-report measures of depression, psychache, hopelessness, self-esteem, social support, and life purpose. Results Participants with a Christian affiliation had 1.5 times (95% CI: 1.14, 1.99, p = 0.004) higher odds of indicating an elevated suicide risk, 3.1 times (95% CI: 1.90, 5.04, p<0.001) higher odds of indicating a previous suicide attempt, and increased overall suicidality (B = 0.105, p < 0.001) after accounting for demographic and risk/protective factors. Christians also scored the highest in depression, psychache, hopelessness, and the lowest social support, self-esteem, and purpose in life. Muslims reported decreased suicidality (B = -0.034, p = 0.031). Buddhism/Daoism yielded non-significant results in the multivariate analyses. Conclusions Christian college students reported increased suicidality levels, perhaps due to public policies on religion. The decreased suicidality levels among Muslims may be attributed to higher perceived social support. The associations between religious affiliation and suicidality, depression, and hopelessness contrast sharply with US samples. This finding may be influenced by interactions between the religious denomination, individual, and social/political factors. This conclusion includes the possibility of anti-religious discrimination, which this paper did not investigate as a possible mediator and therefore remains a conjecture worthy of future investigation.

Does Anger Toward God Moderate the Relationship Between Religiousness and Well-Being?

Most of the current research has found that highly religious people have better well-being compared to people with low religiousness. However, the former group is not immune from occasionally feeling anger toward God, which has an adverse effect on well-being. The purpose of this research is to study whether anger toward God moderates the effect of religiousness on the well-being of Christian college students. The data were derived from 228 respondents (55 male) from a religious university using the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness (4-BDRS), the Attitude toward God Scale (ATGS-9), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The results of the moderation analysis using Process version 3 demonstrated that Anger toward God significantly moderated the effect of religiousness toward well-being (b = .01, 95% Cl [.001, .023], t = 2.14, p < .05). The higher the level of anger toward God, the lesser the effect of religiousness on well-being. Therefore, it is essential for students to resolve their divine struggles. The implications and applications of this study are discussed.