Components of CPE include group time for learning and processing, individual supervision, daytime clinical hours, and nighttime on-call shifts. All of the components have not been easy to fit into my schedule this semester as I am also taking a pastoral care class and doing an independent study. However, the most difficult pressure on my schedule has been the on-call shifts.
Weekday shifts are 16 hours and weekend shifts are 24 hours. Not to mention the recovery time before and/or after catching up on sleep and processing the emotional drain.
Yet even with all of this, I like offering pastoral care in on-call situations better than during daytime clinical hours. Might sound strange. I'm still trying to figure it out.
But last week
- I sat with a woman who had performed CPR on her friend as she died on the side of road;
- I watched a large family say goodbye to a loved one as life support was withdrawn;
- I visited a woman who had to say goodbye to a baby who never drew a breath in this world;
- I spoke with a couple who is unsure of how many breaths their baby will take in this world
2 comments:
I always preferred the on call visits, unless it was someone who had specifically requested a visit. I have found the hospital at night (at least mine) was a great liminal space.
I preferred my night shifts more too. I think there was a little more adriniline rush and the fact that I was the only chap around.
I do remember the first tiem i had to mee a family of a teen in a MVA.
I had a lump in my throat as I meet them for the first time.
Some 12 hours later after the young woman was released (fine and dandy) we were chatting it up like old pals and laughing over the very expensive bikini that had to be cut off. Serioulsy, I think they could have just untied the strings and all, but at time they did not know if she would live and so the $89 skinny pieces of fabric (more cotton in a bottle of asprin!) were of non-importance.
It does suck that they have to cut clothes off of folks since they might be important and are soemtiems the last thing people have to hold on to in a tragedy.
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