My Trip to the Hospital

Today I had an interview for a volunteer Chaplain position. I wasn’t really sure what I was signing up for, nor did I know if I was qualified, but my intuition told me that I needed to pursue it.

I met with the Director of the program who was a retired nurse and Episcopalian Minister/Priest. She began by telling me about the program. Volunteers work 4-6 hour shifts each week. When on duty, a chaplain’s role is to provided grief support for those facing adversity or trauma. This happens in 2 ways. The first way is a traditional in-room visit. Patients can either request to talk to a Chaplain or the nurses will suggest that the Chaplain go in and talk with a certain patient who is struggling or depressed.

The second type of support Chaplains provide is trauma support during crisis moments.  The Chaplain may go with the Doctor to provide support after he/she tells a family that their loved one has died.  Or the Chaplain may be called to the ER when it’s uncertain if a person will live or die and family may be in need of comfort.

Honestly, I feel like I’m perfectly suited for this role with my coach training skills and general comfort with grief/heavy emotions.  I feel like there is a HUGE opportunity for me to serve and I feel confident that I can handle whatever comes up, even though it will be heartbreaking at times.

I’ve been feeling called to find meaningful volunteer work lately. There were very few opportunities to be of service in Lima and that really left a void in my life. I believe this could be just the ticket to both deepen my spirituality and fill that void.

Next steps are to fill out the application and do a background check. Assuming I pass, I will then do 8-12 hours of training, a 3 hour hospital orientation and 5 shadow experiences with other experienced Chaplains.  At that point, if I’m deemed ready, then I’ll be able to go on visits by myself.

I’m sure some of you are curious about the spiritual aspect of this position. I wasn’t sure if I was “holy enough” to do this work but the Director assured me that all it requires is a belief in a higher power and a willingness to be with that individual in whatever capacity they need.

So there you have it. I am itching to get going but will have to practice being patient (like I’m always telling my daughter to do). I’ll keep you updated on my application process. Fingers crossed!

Photo Credit: Used with permission from Flickr Creative Commons by Lee Morley.