Training videos on nursing

The St. Dimitry Sisterhood has been conducting training courses for volunteers who help in hospitals and palliative care departments for many years. During this time, a number of programs and methodological manuals for study courses were developed. The January issue of the News Letter reported about video training materials on nursing. Recently, the St. Dimitry Sisterhood developed a new short video course on nursing bed ridden patients (https://rutube.ru/channel/24526568). The course includes videos on the following topics:

• Washing a patient using a bed pan. Nursing toiletries (wet wipes, foams, lotions, etc.), despite their quality and variety, cannot replace a full-fledged washing with water and soap. A bed ridden patient has to be washed at least twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. The video shows how to perform this manipulation correctly and safely.
• First aid if the patient has fallen. A fall can be traumatic even for a healthy person. When a weak or seriously ill person falls, inaccurate actions of a caregiver can lead to serious consequences. The video explains what first aid should be provided if the patient falls and lays on the floor.
• How to put on a diaper. Changing diapers is one of the most common nursing manipulations. To prevent the diaper from leaking and rubbing the skin, it is important not only to choose the right size and monitor its filling, but also to learn how to put it on. How to put a diaper on an immobilized person who can't even turn over without help? This is explained in the video.
• Positioning (laying) of the patient. The video tells how to properly lay a seriously ill person in a position on his side and on a high bedhead. This is important not only for comfort, but also for prevention of serious complications: bedsores, contractures, etc.
• Change of underwear. Some diseases and traumas can lead to partial or complete paralysis. This greatly complicates simple nursing actions. For example, how to change a shirt (T-shirt) if one arm is immobilized? It is important to understand that wrong actions of a caregiver can lead to pain or damage the shoulder joint of the immobilized arm. The video shows how to safely remove and put on a T-shirt for a bed ridded person.

The techniques offered in the video course will help to correctly care for patients in hospitals and at home.

The Round Table "Education for Change and Diaconia" turns 30 years old

This year the Round Table on Religious Education and Deaconess celebrates its 30th anniversary. The Round Table was established in order to develop the social and religious-educational activities of the Russian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Over the past years, the Round Table has initiated and implemented many projects in such topical areas as: palliative care, assistance to drug and alcohol addicted people, overcoming the spread of HIV/AIDS, assistance to victims of natural disasters, support for families in difficult life situations and a number of others. During the implementation of these projects, thousands of people received real and necessary assistance.

For more than ten years, the Round Table has been actively involved into spiritual and moral formation of children and youth. For this prevention programs "Ladya", "Way to Home" and "Living Water" were developed jointly by of church and secular specialists. More than 6 thousand teachers of secondary schools, colleges, universities and Sunday schools were trained under these programs, and more than 40 thousand children, teenagers and young people took part in these programs, each one including 19 to 27 lessons.

With the support of the Round Table, a program was implemented for training of sisters of mercy of the sisterhoods in various regions of Russia and neighboring countries. 60 seminars were held and 1800 nurses, volunteers and medical workers from 90 organizations were trained.

The Round Table carries implements its activities in cooperation with diocesan social departments, theological schools, and diaconal organizations. Many important projects were organized jointly with the St. Dimitry Sisterhood (Moscow). For more than 20 years, the Round Table has annually held workshops on HIV/AIDS and on interconfessional exchange in the field of social service during the Annual Educational Christmas Readings.

Today, the Round Table continues its active work, implementing projects targeting prevention and overcoming the spread of HIV/AIDS, pastoral care of the mentally ill people, assistance to those suffering from various kinds of addictions, and others.