|
 |
  |
|
|
Dr. Snapp cites a recent example of how the new working atmosphere augments their teamwork. When a new mother came in for medical care, Dr. Snapp began asking her about her spiritual experience. She found the young woman open to hearing about the Lord. Since Dr. Snapp was running behind schedule and couldn’t finish the conversation, she asked her nurse, Jeanie Prince, to spend a few more minutes with the new mother. Because of their training, both staff members understood the other’s approach to ministry. In addition, to give the mother a chance to have an undistracted conversation, the receptionist, Marilyn Woodard, took charge of the baby. While Jeanie and the young mother conversed, the mother became concerned about her baby. But when she noticed the little one asleep in the receptionist’s lap, she relaxed, which allowed Jeanie to continue discussing medical and spiritual concerns with her. Sharing
the Good News A main purpose of the clinic is to introduce patients to Jesus Christ. Dr. Snapp explains, “Everyone who works here believes that medicine is not our end purpose. Jesus Christ is. Medicine is a good means to present the love of Christ in a hands-on, tangible way, and to challenge people with lifestyle choices.” The clinic sees patients with diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, hypertension, drug and alcohol addiction, and respiratory infections. Recently, Jan Schmidt, M.D., a family practice physician, joined the clinic, which increased the caseload with pediatrics and OB/GYN patients. The clinic also has a dental coordinator, Lynn Carey and a social worker, Linda Ebeling. The staff uses various ways to minister to patients.When taking phone calls, the nurses may pray with a patient or suggest verses to read. The staff also shares the plan of salvation with patients who are open to spir-itual matters. Staff members often open a conversation with this question: “Where do you find support in the midst of all of this?” Usually, the response is “God.” This easily leads into “Who is Jesus to you?” During the ensuing conversation, the patient is presented with the gospel in a nonthreatening, clear manner. Reaffirming
the Purpose The conference training also helped Jeanie focus on the patient rather than on the problem that brought the patient to the clinic. “Before the conference, I was concerned about how I could fix the problem, but after the conference, I focused on the fact that this is a person God loves and how I could love this person and not try to fix him.” Dr. Schmidt describes the benefits she received from the conference. “I went through a Christian residency program and had some background in sharing my faith with patients. But this conference helped me balance my personal walk with Christ and my motivation for sharing my faith. Sharing your faith comes out of our love for Christ and how much He has done for us. That’s why we share the gift of Him with others.” She cites the hands-on teamwork in sharing her faith with hospital patients as a valuable part of the training. The week after the conference, Dr. Schmidt and Debbie Wendt, a clinic nurse practitioner, were performing a physical exam on a pregnant woman. During the conversation with the patient, they found that the woman’s mother was seriously ill in a hospital. She was worried about how she could handle her pregnancy with her mother so ill. When Debbie began going through the plan of salvation with the patient, Dr. Schmidt stepped back and began praying for Debbie as she was taught to do. When the woman began crying, Dr. Schmidt stepped out of the room to get a box of tissues. As she did, she asked the other office staff to pray, too. After she returned to the room, the woman accepted the Lord. Later, the patient’s mother died. Since Debbie had developed a connection with the patient, she attended the funeral to give her support. According to Fred McClean, the clinic administrator, “The training helped all the members of the staff present the gospel more consistently.” As a result, they have seen more patients become believers. Last Friday, a nineteen-year-old girl came in who had lost about 20 pounds because of stress. Dr. Snapp asked her, “Where are you in your faith in God?” She answered, “I used to go to church.” That opened the conversation about God as the source of our strength. After hearing the plan of salvation, this young girl accepted the Lord with gratitude and lots of tears. Each day, the staff prays together about the people God brings into the clinic. They pray for patients they’ve seen and the problems each patient faces. They remind each other that their purpose is to minister to and love the patients—even the difficult ones. Dr. Schmidt set the example with one particularly difficult woman who called every day. After dealing with the woman’s current problems, Dr. Schmidt began saying to the patient, “We’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Her example of anticipating continued interaction with the patient instead of begrudging every call changed the other staff ’s attitude toward the woman. As a result of being “loved on,” this woman is now attending prayer times at a church plant in her neighborhood, which Lynn Carey and Linda Ebeling attend. The Good Samaritan staff agrees that the conference made a difference in the way they interact in helping their patients—whether this was their first experience at METS or if they had attended several times. They found it unifying to attend together. Today, they are excited about how the Lord continues to transform their work into ministry and how He is developing their attitudes and relationships. |
 |
Today
the staff at the Good Samaritan Clinic in Wichita, Kansas, is enjoying
a renewed sense of mission. This change happened when eleven out
of twelve staff members attended the recent METS Kansas City conference
on October 6—10, 1999. Kim Snapp, M.D., general internist at the
clinic, comments, “We had four great days of being together. As
a result, we as a staff are all working from the same page.”