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| A tough shift; last evening through this afternoon | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 6 2012, 09:07 PM (232 Views) | |
| Dewey | Oct 6 2012, 09:07 PM Post #1 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Most of which, of course, I can't discuss. Generally speaking, though, there were times I was leaving one crisis and being snagged by other docs calling me into other family consultations where families were being given terminal prognoses for loved ones, or who were wrestling with decisions regarding withdrawing from vents, chaning code status, or stopping resuscitation efforts in ongoing code blues, several times not even knowing the patient's name before plunging into the meeting. Beyond those kinds of consultations were making multiple calls to family members at home, notifying them that their loved one "has taken a turn for the worse" (which is polite language for saying that the medical team are taking shifts doing rib-cracking chest compressions trying to keep them alive just a few feet from the phone) and that they should probably come to the hospital now, and providing pastoral care and acting as go between for family members while they stand by, terrified, in the midst of the code. In between those, at one point this morning I was hopping between four different rooms in the ICU, providing care for four different families, and administering, for all practical purposes, a Protestant version of last rites, as the families sat by waiting for their loved ones to be extubated. Which brings me to Joe - one of the patients, an old gentleman whose family had made the decision to extubate and let nature rake its course. Among several other amazing aspects of his life story, Joe was a veteran of the Army Air Force during WW II. He was stationed at Tinian Island in the Pacific in 1945. As far as I know, he was not part of the teams that dropped the first atomic bombs, but he was there in the midst of it. It was humbling to be with him and his wife and other family members in this moment, and a part of his, and their saying goodbye to Joe. I felt honored to have helped Joe, a real, physical link to earth-changing history, as he neared moving on to the next existence. Times like this fascinate me, all the seemingly normal, average people that you encounter each day, and so many if them have some similar amazing story like Joe's. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| Mikhailoh | Oct 7 2012, 04:49 AM Post #2 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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So many ordinary lives with extraordinary experiences. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| RosemaryTwo | Oct 7 2012, 06:56 AM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Good that another person appreciated the depth of his life, one last time, as he left the world. |
| "Perhaps the thing to do is just to let stupid run its course." Aqua | |
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| Jolly | Oct 7 2012, 07:42 AM Post #4 |
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Geaux Tigers!
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Just curious...where are these people's pastors? Seems like an inordinate amount of work is falling on your shoulders, which by right, should fall on someone else. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
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| Horace | Oct 7 2012, 09:29 AM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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How many people have pastors? |
| As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good? | |
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| Jolly | Oct 7 2012, 10:15 AM Post #6 |
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Geaux Tigers!
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Down here? >90%. Either through where they attend religious services or where their family attends. |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
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| Dewey | Oct 7 2012, 03:26 PM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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The largest single religious affiliation per the hospital's daily census is "NONE." And it is my charge to provide pastoral/spiritual care to people of all faiths, and no religious faiths. As a hospital chaplain, it's my call to be a spiritual presence to the patients and their families (as well as the hospital staff) from the standpoint of their - not my - belief system. And many of these folks have no church or other religious or spiritual community or leader to reach out to in times of illness or crisis. I'd estimate that about half of the people I encounter have no real religious affiliation at all, let alone any ministerial presence they could access in times of crisis. Of those who identify a particular religious affiliation, the majority of them are only nominally associated with that particular faith or denomination. Of the Christians in that mix, maybe half are "Christmas & Easter" Christians - if asked if they had a pastor, they could provide the name of the pastor of the church where their membership resides, but they actually have little if any real connection to him or her beyond politely sitting through their Sunday sermons. Most of them - and a significant number of the more committed believers - typically will not call for pastoral care from their church, often even in life and death scenarios. The reasons for this are varied: 1. The most obvious is the case where the patient or patient's family has no real emotional connection to the pastor, because they've limited their understanding of pastoral presence in their lives as mentioned in the last paragraph. 2. The next most common reason is that they "don't want to bother" the pastor. Many, many churches are staffed with less than fulltime clergy, who have other jobs and can't just run to the hospital on a moment's notice for every single hospitalization. Even in those churches which have fulltime clergy, some people feel like their problems aren't serious enough to inform the pastor that they or a loved one are in the hospital. 3. Another big issue is the one of familiarity: a patient or patient's family are often far more willing to be open and honest about their true feelings, fears, angers, doubts, and facts about their lives, with a hospital chaplain, who they don't have to "live with" once they're out of the hospital and for the next twenty years in the parish setting. Many, many people have serious issues that they need to come to terms with, but who think, "Oh, I could never discuss *that*, or admit that I think/feel *that way,* to my regular pastor - I'd be so embarrassed every time I saw him/her afterward; I'd probably have to change churches to avoid that kind of discomfort!" Often, the lack of long-term connection with a person is a great advantage to them opening up more honestly. 4. Frankly, another part of the issue is that providing pastoral/spiritual care to hospital patients often means dealing with particular healthcare-related issues that a local parish pastor may have very little training, experience, or exposure to. I can tell you that I deal with more of some of the issues I'm specifically thinking of here, on a weekly or monthly basis in the hospital setting, than a typical parish minister would encounter in years' worth of normal pastoral care hospital visitations. Hospital pastoral care is a unique and specialized form of ministry. Most mainline Protestant denominations, and Roman Catholics, require at least one unit of accredited Clinical Pastoral Education. While I chose not to continue on with a residency beyond my single unit of CPE, the additional experience that I've gained doing this chaplaincy gives me a much greater exposure and expertise in providing such care to patients and families than the typical parish minister. Even more significantly, most (I'm actually not sure if any) of the Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and nondenominational congregations do not have any requirement for clinical pastoral education for their ordained clergy - and I will say quite bluntly that I've had to mop up many emotional messes caused by these pastors who came in for a pastoral visit to a parishioner, and with all the best motives but zero understanding of this type of ministry, have actually caused more harm than good to their parishioners. Of course, we always defer to patients' and family's own clergy when they're called in - and we try to facilitate their doing so, and offer the clergy any support they may need. But the reality is that even in the most "normal" of hours, even a fulltime pastor cannot always be present on a moment's notice, even when there is one, and the patient or family want their involvement. All of this has served to confirm to me that my call is ultimately to the parish, even despite having what I believe is a skill for this form of ministry. As I said, I view my hospital time as not only providing an important form of care to patients and their families now, but also as providing me with additional, specialized training in this aspect of ministry, ultimately making me a better pastor to those in my congregation. So no, it really isn't someone else's job. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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| sue | Oct 7 2012, 09:25 PM Post #8 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I have such admiration, and appreciation, for people like you, Dewey. People who deal with a side of life that most of us don't deal with on a daily basis. Thank you for doing what you do. |
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| brenda | Oct 7 2012, 09:32 PM Post #9 |
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+1 As you note, Dewey, there are many reasons for your position at the hospitals. It's tough work. I would think the burnout rate must be high. Bless you for undertaking the task. |
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” ~A.A. Milne | |
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