I took issue in my previous post with those who live by some fixed truths they are unwilling to have questioned. The idea of climate change has certainly not simply been invented but, so far as I know, neither has it been 100 percent proven. To claim one or the other is an example of what I mean by a fixed truth or a dogma.
Similarly, liberal education is not about spreading around fixed truths like these two. It doesn’t matter if the so-called truth in question is considered politically liberal or politically conservative because being politically liberal is a lot different from being liberally educated.
Liberal Education
Liberally educated people do not go around asserting either that climate change is 100 percent proven or that it is a hoax, that the nation’s borders ought to be entirely open or entirely closed. These are dogmas that might go viral for a day or two but finally get us nowhere.
The only sensible question is what the bulk of the evidence has suggested and for that, we need to listen to what the best-informed people have concluded. That is the basis on which we make up our minds with due regard for, and fairness to, such opposition as they may have encountered. The liberally educated do not look for truth in shouting matches. It exists not inside but outside ourselves–that is, in the evidence, and must be patiently discovered there.
The liberally educated also attend to the difference between our political and our cultural differences. I was recently told about a church-going Alabama woman who, when she heard some animal invade her cherished bird’s nest, said that she headed straight to her closet to fetch her thirty-eight. Alabama’s gun laws are among the least restrictive in the nation and yet, if this woman were asked to support legislation limiting the access of Alabama children to firearms, I imagine she might do so. In other words, she could think with the culture of her state in rejecting gun control overall, but make an exception in this particular political case.
Similarly, hunting is a much-loved hobby for several of my neighbors in upstate Pennsylvania. But I’m pretty sure some of them agree with the recent Pennsylvania law that requires those convicted of domestic violence to hand over their guns within 24 hours instead of keeping them for 60 days as used to be the case. The gun culture is one thing, gun control politics is another, and the two don’t necessarily coincide.
Inclusion and Diversity
Like so many other colleges these days, the
one I taught at until my retirement several years ago emphasizes its commitment
to inclusion and diversity. I agreed with that commitment. I also agree that
proven student behavior like scratching anti-Semitic phrases on blackboards or
shouting out the N-word should be punished with penalties like suspension. But
the terms “inclusion and diversity” have become so exhaustively repeated on
campuses, and often preached rather than explained, that they strike some
students still ignorant of history as lacking in enforceable meaning. That may
be one reason why blatant cases of discrimination persist on campuses.
I remember admiring a former student of mine from Texas. Basing a paper she wrote on the practical experience of her and her family, she had the nerve to question the universal and automatic correctness of “inclusion and diversity.” She had been brought up in a San Antonio school district where social service taxes, which included school taxes, had risen so high that her family, already burdened with huge college expenses, had seriously to consider moving elsewhere. Their politically liberal neighbors insisted that the hidden cause of the family’s discontent was not financial distress, but an objection to the nearby overflow of Mexican immigrants, many illegal, for whom newer and larger schools had to be built.
My student had clearly been troubled by this accusation of prejudice, which was repeated by her classmates in our discussion of her paper. The evidence she gave for her argument, however, had to do not with the local increase in Mexican immigrants, whom she described with unfailing respect, but with the notably excessive tax increase on hard-pressed neighborhood families. Her paper far outclassed those of the many other students who relied on tiring invocations of the words “inclusion and diversity,” presumably on the assumption that my grade would indicate how profoundly I would bow before them.
Discovered Evidence vs Righteous Insult
In short, my Texas student demonstrated her regard for discovered evidence as opposed to righteous insult, and her good grade reflected that. The students in our class who, along with some of her family’s San Antonio neighbors immediately accused her of prejudice, were preachers of liberal dogma, perhaps more accurately described as liberal cruelty. Ignoring local culture and particular circumstances, these dogmatic, “fixed truth” liberals are the opposites of the extreme political conservatives whose ahistorical dream of restored American greatness hints strongly of white supremacy.
Will We Remain Divided?
Whether the shouting matches between these two groups will remain the norm of American discourse, and the symptom of a divided culture that it now is, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, its fury demonstrates the value of the quieter, more reasoned approach to our problems characteristic of a “liberal” education, the kind that now seems pretty close to defunct.
This blog article was written by Flying Angels Corporate Ethicist Ronald Wendling. In addition to his posts here, his thoughts can be found on his own blog page Keeping up with Ron.
National Family Caregiver Month in November offers the family and friends of caregivers a great opportunity. Every day caregivers work hard to make sure a family member is healthy and safe. Now is the time to appreciate caregivers by showing them how much they are loved.
Appreciate Caregivers
Chances are, there is someone among your friends or in your family who is a caregiver. The Pew Research Center estimates there are 40.4 million caregivers in the United States. Most are unpaid. They are caring for adults who are 65 or older, and nine out of 10 are caring for an aging relative.
Many face a demanding schedule, routine physical tasks that can take a toll on their health, and even stress about finances. In some cases, being a caregiver can seem like a thankless job. Family Caregiver Month offers you the chance to show caregivers how much everyone appreciates what they do. If you are looking for ideas, consider the following.
Gift Ideas
There are many ways to appreciate caregivers with gifts. When choosing a gift, think about something that offers the caregiver some “down time” away from the work they do every day. Some ideas include:
Many of those who work as caregivers rarely have the time to practice self-care. Because of their self-sacrificing instincts, they tend to do for others and think of themselves last. When searching for a gift, thinking about something that shows how you appreciate caregivers by giving them time to do something they love to do. This can range from giving them time to take a long, relaxing bath to purchasing a gift card to their favorite manicurist.
Acts of Kindness
One of the best things you can do for Family Caregiver Month is simply to ask a caregiver what you can do to help. Many caregivers will never ask for help on their own. Take the time to sit down with them and find out what they need from you. Another act of kindness is to simply listen – give them a sympathetic ear. Sometimes, just being able to voice your problems to a trusted friend or family member can make you feel immediately better.
Hire Help
If you and a circle of
friends or family members can afford it, hiring at-home help can have a huge
impact on the lives of caregivers. Even someone who comes by once or twice a
week to help with issues such as laundry or house cleaning can make a
significant difference.
Chip In For A Week
If you want to show caregiver appreciation, consider gathering together all your friends and/or family members and coming up with a schedule to handle all the chores for a week or more. Take care of issues such as sweeping, vacuuming, washing the dishes and doing the laundry. If you can make this something you do regularly, that’s even better. Family Caregiver Month offers a wonderful opportunity to appreciate caregivers and all the hard work they do. Don’t let the month get away without showing caregivers how much you care about them.
Medical flights help you and your families travel safely after someone is hospitalized or may have limited mobility. Medical air travel arrangements can be scheduled with a flight coordinator who should be an RN with emergency and critical care experience. Registered nurses with extensive Critical Care/Emergency experience accompany you during travel from beginning to end, bedside to bedside.
They
differ from emergency flights, in which patients are flown directly to a
hospital by plane or helicopter.
Medical flights and medical travel are popular because they allow those with debilitating conditions, disorders, disabilities or injuries to have the comfort and security of a flight nurse accompanying them through the airport and during their flight.
How to Schedule Medical Travel
Flight nurses typically work with an agency such as Flying Angels that also employs an RN Flight Coordinator. They handle all the advance planning for medical travel, coordinating with airports, airlines, ground transportation and hotels.
The reason for seeking medical flights or medical travel differ by the individual. When using medical transport, patients have made the decision that they want support during their trip from a trained, qualified and experienced nurse.
In many cases, the patients are older travelers with a chronic condition. They could be visiting relatives, going on a family vacation to a distant location or relocating to a new home to be closer to family.
Whatever the case, medical flights provide you with the support you need. For example, airport personnel is contacted in advance so they know when you’re arriving. The flight nurse goes through TSA with you and works to make sure any medical equipment (such as a wheelchair or medications) are carried on properly. TSA notification cards can help to expedite the security checkpoint process in several ways as well as TSA PreCheck™.
The flight nurse helps you board the flight in advance to ensure you’re not waiting in lines or accidentally bumped into by another traveler. Your flight coordinator would have already chosen the best seat assignment for your situation and has arranged to have all the medication and supplies you need for the flight. RN flight nurses are experts at high-altitude healthcare which can also be referred to as aviation physiology. Medical flights and medical travel provide security and comfort to those who decide to work with a professional non-emergency medical transportation company.
Medical
emergency flights are sometimes referred to as medical flights, but the
difference is the “emergency” part.
Patients on an emergency medical flight are usually being taken from the scene of an accident or a natural disaster to a hospital. Emergency personnel provides medical care during the flight that focuses on preserving life until they can get to an intensive care unit. So, while the term medical flight might sometimes be used to refer to emergency flights, it typically refers to non-emergency medical transport. It’s a way for people to have peace of mind during their flight, knowing they will arrive safely and have help if any type of emergency does arise.
This is
the beginning of a series of posts written from the point of view of a retired
English professor reflecting on the changes in American society that started
taking place some years ago and that foreshadowed the divisions, political and
social, we are now facing.
Fred Trump, the President’s father, is reported to have set down the following rule for his now-famous son: “eat or be eaten.” But surely one lesson we learn from growing up is that there is such a thing as sane competition. We do have legitimate needs and desires that we should insist upon if we are not to be taken advantage of, much less bullied. But there is also what I would call insane competition–the kind that rolls over the egos of others like a cement mixer.
Impossible Truth
The central problem with this screwball brand of competition is that it makes no distinction between truth and falsehood. The crazy competitor is never wrong; he has no need to listen to the opinions of others (except for formality’s sake) because he never doubts that his opinions are the right ones. This inability to assert oneself without first abolishing the assertions of others makes patient discovery of the truth impossible. There is simply no difference between what’s true and what the bully thinks is true. Such a person lives in a closed world where there is no need to take another person seriously for the simple reason that the other person, whenever he opposes the bully, is by that very fact wrong. Insane competitors like this readily become dogmatists in religion and dictators in politics. The world is now overrun with dogmatic, dictatorial competitors for whom truth does not exist outside themselves. But the core of a liberal education, as I understand it, is precisely finding that very truth. Higher education is not merely a ticket into the middle class (and an absurdly expensive one at that). Neither do educators like me who claim it is definitely more than that belong to an outdated set of dreamers.
Thinking it through
Of course social developments that make searching for truth sound like a laughably high-sounding educational goal have indeed occurred: the great Recession led to an unusually high degree of financial anxiety; college costs rose at a frantic pace; scholarships were hard to find; too many graduates had to live longer with their parents; marriages had to be postponed; childcare was difficult to afford and college debt nearly impossible to pay off; affordable housing was scarce, and divorce more frequent under those tense circumstances.
Liberal Education
When I insist nevertheless that the truth is outside us, and not within easy grasp, and that a liberal education can help us find it, I am not talking about some fixed truth we can live off of for the rest of our lives. In fact it is the dogmatic and dictatorial competitor, the one whose absolute confidence in himself has made carefully listening to others unnecessary, that thrives on the grand, standard answers and has difficulty associating with anyone who thinks differently from him. The liberally educated, on the other hand, like to think small. By talking to others on a particular subject they do not necessarily want to repeat what they argued for in a paper they wrote twenty years ago but to decide on what is best in today’s changed circumstances, which may or may not require a different thesis. These are the sane, thoughtful competitors, the open minds that a democracy thrives on and that, when we lose them, will cause democracy to shrivel.
Pope Francis Listening
Questioning Inclusion and Diversity
Inclusion and diversity is an admirable goal for education, but I will return in my next post to a student I taught years ago who had the courage to question that goal at least in the particular circumstances with which she was familiar. I have lost track of her since then, but I am as certain as I can be that the care she took to listen carefully to those with whom she disagreed has made her by now a non-dogmatic, non-dictatorial but highly valuable contributor to our democracy.
This blog article was written by Flying Angels Corporate Ethicist Ronald Wendling. In addition to his posts here, his thoughts can be found on his own blog page Keeping up with Ron.
If you’re thinking about leaving town during the holidays, the number of options might surprise you. For those willing to plan ahead for their holiday travel, they will find many great choices for where to spend their winter break.
But before finding a place to go, it’s important to keep a big tip in mind: Try to schedule your holiday travel trip in the first part of winter break, which is usually the week that includes Christmas. The second half, which includes New Year’s Eve, is usually much busier for travelers.
Holiday Travel Tips
Here are some more tips for holiday travel as
well as some great destination ideas.
Enjoy The Lights Of
Christmas Towns
Some of the most memorable holiday travel destinations are the Christmas Towns scattered across the United States. These are towns that know how to do the holidays right. They show their holiday spirit with elaborate light displays, beautiful Christmas decorations, holiday craft fairs, and winter festivals. Examples include Cape Cod in Massachusetts, St. Augustine in Florida and Taos in New Mexico.
Visit European
Christmas Markets
The Christmas holiday is one of the best times
to visit Europe, which is known for dazzling Christmas markets where you can
shop, people watch and enjoy beautiful lights and scenery. Some, such as the
Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt in Germany, have been going since the 16th
century. Others include the Munich Christmas Market in Germany, the Christmas
market at La Défense in Paris, and London’s Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
Be OK With
Stopovers on International Travel
Speaking of travel to Europe, people who are
willing to have a stopover on an international trip can often find tickets that
are cheaper. A nonstop ticket will be much more expensive. But breaking
the trip into essentially two flights can result in lower prices. Plus, you are
not going to regret spending a night in Porto, Helsinki, Geneva or Rome. Just
make sure to have an international travel checklist.
See Business-Oriented
Cities
Have you ever wanted to see Dallas, Atlanta or
Phoenix? These cities, which typically draw tons of business travelers, will be
relatively low-key during the holidays but have many great attractions for
visitors.
Look For Deals
If you want to see New York City or Los Angeles
decked out for the holidays, then look for deals. Much like the European cities
such as London, Paris and Rome, these cities draw both business and tourist
travelers. However, more deals on hotels and flights can typically be found
around the holidays as opposed to the big travel months in the spring and
summer. Also, if skiing is your thing, consider going to Utah rather than Aspen
or Vail in Colorado.
Look For New Routes
and Hotels
Airlines often offer deals on new flight routes.
You’ll also want to check out how to find the best seat on an airplane.
Hotels and resorts offer deals when they have just opened. Consider being
open-minded about where you go and book the trip where you can get the best
deal.
Visit Jerusalem
For travelers who place importance in their faith, the holidays are an excellent time to visit Jerusalem. There are holy sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians in the city. They include the Western Wall, Holy Sepulcher, Tower of David and the Mount of Olives. Also, Bethlehem offers Christmas Eve tours. These are some ideas to keep in mind as the holidays approach. Holiday travel, if planned properly, can actually be easier than traveling during other times of the year. And the scenery, lights and atmosphere are the best you will find any time during the year.
Not every day is the same for flight nurses who work in non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). Every day, they deal with different types of patients who need a variety of medical services during their flight.
However, there are certain duties that often come up every day for a NEMT flight nurse. But first, it’s important to understand what NEMT is and how it differs from an air ambulance.
NEMT involves the transportation of patients who require or desire medical assistance when traveling on scheduled flights on commercial airlines like Delta, United, Lufthansa, etc… both domestic and international. People hire a company like Flying Angels so a flight nurse can travel with their loved one. This can be for many reasons, including medical trips to specialist hospitals and doctors far away, for relocating an elderly parent, or for bringing home a loved one who was injured overseas. Family members are always welcome to fly with the flight nurse, but in most cases, it is just the flight nurse and the patient.
Whatever the case, flight nurses have a long list of duties. Flight nurses for Flying Angels all have experience in providing emergency medical care and have extensive experience in dealing with emergency and trauma situations.
So, what does a flight nurse do on a typical day? They usually include some or all the following.
Double Checking Plans
Flight nurses work with flight coordinators (who also are nurses) to handle the details in arranging NEMT with commercial airlines. They will review the procedures for the airports they plan to visit that day and reach out to any officials they need to speak with before arriving at the airport.
Packing The Medical
Kit
Prior to any transport flight coordinators prepare an extensive case file that will include relevant information on the patient, and all details related to the transport including ground, air, hotels, and points of contact. Flight nurses will review the case file of that day’s patient beforehand. They will know all the medical equipment they need to deal with any type of issue that might come up given the conditions of each patient. Before departing home, will make sure they have any specialty medical equipment needed for the flight such as specialty reclining wheelchairs, oxygen equipment, suction, nebulizers, etc…
Working in tandem with the flight coordinators, flight nurses make sure they meet all the pre-planned points on the trip, as laid out in the case file. The day before the flight the flight nurse will meet with the client at their residence and facility and will go over the plan for the following day. The flight nurse will confirm that all documents are in order, all medications are accounted for, and that all parties involved are aware of the schedule for the following day. The flight nurse will also will confirm that the ground transportation, arranged earlier by the flight coordinator is set up and in order. The flight nurse will stay overnight at a nearby hotel. The day of transport the flight nurse will return to pick up the patient at their home or residence and travel with them to the airport.
Flight nurses with Flying Angels have trained in flight physiology, and have extensive experience in air travel and the complexities involved getting through the check-in process, security, and customs & immigration for international flights. They also understand any psychological distress a patient might feel throughout the journey. Further, they know the specific circumstances of the patient they are flying with that day and know the signs of any problem. They also will monitor when it is time for medications and make routine checks.
Flights nurses oversee the patient disembarking from the plane safely and make sure they get through the airport to the awaiting ground transportation where they will travel with the patient to their final destination. Typically they will stay at an airport hotel and will then return to their point of origin the following day ready for another flight.
The daily routine of a flight nurse always has some variables, but it’s an exciting and challenging job no matter what the specific duties for each day’s flight. Flight nurses serve an important function in working with patients with medical conditions and illnesses, keeping them safe when they fly.
