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Sister Judeen Schulte explores complementary health practices
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Sister Judeen helped this Japanese student (flashing a “peace” sign) with her English at the Hiroshima Peace Museum |
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| Shown here is the bed cot in which a pregnant woman was carried for more than 5 miles to Goreghat Clinic in St. Francis Province in North India |
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This baby was born at the Goreghat Clinic in St. Francis Province and the mother walked home two hours later |
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Meal time at the Bicchyia Hostel in |
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School Sisters in India assist with final preparations for a new Assisi Province Provincial House in Assisidaan (October 2007) |
For the past several years, Sister Judeen Schulte has known that she wanted to have firsthand experience learning about Eastern medicine, also called complementary or homeopathic medicine. As Dean of the School of Nursing at Alverno College in Milwaukee, she also wanted to explore different kinds of nursing programs. A seed was planted in 2000 when Sister Judeen attended the School Sisters of St. Francis General Assembly in Milwaukee. She met School Sisters from India who extended an invitation to her to visit. The visit became a reality seven years later.
From September 8 through November 19, 2007, Sister Judeen spent her sabbatical from Alverno College traveling in Japan, Hong Kong, India and Germany. The trip was a mix of personal and professional pursuits that immersed Sister Judeen in various cultures and enabled her to learn about complementary health practices, combined therapies and the Ayurvedic approach to living and healing.
The first stop on her sabbatical was Japan, where Sister Judeen visited Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. “I was particularly moved by the people I met in Hiroshima and how clear it was that they wanted peace in the world,” she said. Sister Judeen also consulted with the School of Nursing faculty about ability-based education at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University.
From Japan she spent two weeks in Hong Kong where she visited the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), located in Hung Hom, Kowloon Island. There she consulted with the School of Nursing faculty. “I learned firsthand about the nursing program as well as their integrative health clinic and Chinese Medicine Nursing Laboratory – both of which make use of stress management techniques and natural herbs,” she said. (She noted that groups of Alverno College nursing students will travel to Japan and Hong Kong during the spring 2008 semester.) Sister Judeen was very impressed that PolyU opened the first Chinese medicinal labs and they include a “Chinese Therapies” class and a requirement for students to know these languages: Cantonese, basic Mandarin and English. Sister Judeen also found it interesting that PolyU has “seven attributes” they want students to possess before they graduate and she likened them to the eight abilities required of Alverno students.
Once she arrived in India, Sister Judeen traveled to various cities. One of her main objectives was to visit the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) in Doiwala and its College of Nursing. “The trust was founded in 1991 by Dr. Swami Rama and offers comprehensive health care and social development programs and provides several health-related education programs,” Sister Judeen commented. The organization is committed to the belief that all human beings have a right to health, education and economic self-sufficiency. The HIHT website states that its overall philosophy is to “love, serve, and remember.” While at HIHT, Sister Judeen experienced the benefits of the Trust’s Combined Therapy program by working with a physician who is also a yoga master.
From HIHT, Sister Judeen traveled to the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh where she spent a month visiting with School Sisters of St. Francis in Assisi Province and St. Francis Province. In addition to learning more about Ayurvedic health care and pharmacology while with the sisters, Sister Judeen learned about the specific ministries of many of the School Sister missions. “I was blessed to stay in a number of our SSSF communities which was enlightening and fun,” she said. Her travels included a visit to Palakkad where five School Sisters work at the Paalana Institute for Medical Sciences – a trust associated with the Palakkad Diocese. The hospital uses some Ayurvedic principles and Sister Judeen was glad to have spent time there observing and learning. “This is a major hospital for the region, much of which is populated with Hindis,” she said. “People are treated for everything from fevers, to diabetes and surgery.” Sister Judeen was struck by what she felt was an extraordinary mission statement and explained that “Paalana” means “providence” and that their motto is, “Eternal providence through human hands.” In Palakkad, she also visited the Ayur Hospital where she experienced Ayurvedic massage firsthand.
Sister Judeen felt that it was a real privilege to see how the sisters in India serve the needs of people through nursing, education, social work, and caring for the homeless. “These are all ministries that respond to the needs of the times,” she stated. She appreciated the ability to see the “internationality” of the congregation firsthand. “Our sisters truly live the mission of healing and preserving life,” she said.
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