A typical week

So you wonder what I do as a chaplain at a hospital. Sometimes I do too. But, just so the two people who read this post can see what I do, I will give you a basic list of some of the things that I might deal with. This post is not based on any actually week. I have to be careful because of confidentiality to make sure nobody could identify anyone from this blog. So this will be a random sample of experiences I have had since I arrived that, when put together, represent a typical week for me. I will do it based on my schedule.

Monday, 5am- wake up, eat a banana, get ready, and start riding. I ride my bike into work a couple of days a week. It is about 15 miles one way through a paved trail that goes through woods, around ponds, over a bridge for the first half, then on a typical city street for the second half. It takes me about an hour. If I get there in time, I may stop by the base gym and lift weights. I shower and get in my uniform at the hospital.
7am- Pre-surgery visits. At about 7am I go visit the patients who are preparing to go into surgery. This may range anywhere from tonsils to cancer related surgery. Some people have been waiting and looking forward to it for a long time. Others may be dreading it. I never know what kind of reaction I will get when I enter the rooms. I usually tell them that I am a chaplain just stopping by to see if there is anything I can do for them. I try to talk to them a little to find out about the surgery and how they feel about it. After I make sure they understand what a chaplain does I ask again if they would like my help with anything. Often they ask me to pray with them. I usually like to ask them if there is anything they would like me to pray for besides that the surger will go well. Sometimes they will talk to me about various other issues that they are worried about in their life. One time, for example, when I introduced myself the lady seemed fine but asked for prayer. When I asked what to pray for she began to cry and told me that her mother had passed away a year previous and that she was having a hard time adjusting. As we talked it became clear that she thought that if she really had faith then she wouldn't be sad. Her attempts to stifle her mourning were actually prolonging the process. I shared with her the story of Lazarus and how Jesus wept even though he knew perfectly that he would see him in a matter of minutes. When I prayed with her I asked God to help her feel good about mourning and let her know that it was okay to miss her mother. When I pray with people, I ask about their religious background. If they are Christian, I will pray in Jesus' name. If not I close with a more generic ending.
8am-SARP meeting- The chaplains also work with the substance abuse recovery program. For 4 weeks various personnel associated with the military who have addiction problems come the try to overcome their addictions. Some have been sent by court order or by their command because of DUI or because they tested positive on a drug test. Some will be discharged from the military (in the Navy it is automatic for drug use). Many of them are using to distract them from pain and stress in their life. Most of them have caused pain and stress because of using. That is where we come in as chaplains. At this meeting, the counselors report on each of the patients in their group. Occasionally, there will be somebody who needs to see the chaplain. For example, on one occasion I was called in to talk to a patient who said they really needed to talk. He was a marine who, while he was in Irag, had shot an insurgent, but had also inadvertantly killed a little girl who was behind the insurgent. He had PTSD from it, which was feeding his alcoholism, and was carrying some deep guilt issues. Much of what he needed was beyond my skills as a chaplain, but I was able to help with the spiritual and guilt issues. Another time I was called to counsel a young girl who had gone out and gotten drunk on the weekend during her treatment. That meant she was a treatment failure and would be discharged from the Navy. My job was to help give her hope and direction.
10am, Personal devotions- I usually take a little time to read scriptures, pray and maybe read an inspirational book. Then I check my email and take care of any stuff associated with that.
11am, Patient visits- There are two chaplains at the hospital, so we divide up the patients to visit. One week I will take those in inpatient care, and he will take the ICU and the maternal and Infant Unit. This is usually the most rewarding, and the most difficult part of my job. There are a lot of people who really need spiritual help. Some want it, others don't. Sometimes there are people whose lives and bodies are falling apart and they want some way out of it. It is really difficult sometimes to comfort them, even if they may not get better. I'll spread out some of my experiences over the 5 days of my week. I will write about this day as though I was assigned to ICU/MIU. In the ICU a met a young lady who had come in the hospital for an appendectomy. Her body had not reacted well and she ended up in ICU. She had already been there several days when I met her and she was not happy. She looked discouraged and depressed. I talked to her about her faith (she was christian), but it didn't seem to be helping her much. I asked if she would like me to pray with her and she said that would be fine. Then I explained that in my denomination we, like many others, have an ordinance of annointing the sick and giving them a blessing. I asked if she would rather I do that. She agreed. Following the blessing she was completely different. She smiled and seemed to be a lot happier. From that day on every time I would walk in the room she would just light up. On the day she left she asked for my card and said she couldn't thank me enough for helping her change her attitude so she could heal. After ICU I go up to see the new babies. Usually the people there are happy and don't ask for help as often. Usually I start talking to the mother and those present about the baby and just get them comfortable with me. I tell them about my kids and, if it is there first (it usually is) share with them some things to expect and advice that has helped me. Occasionally I will get to pray with them. One day I came in and found a young lady who didn't seem too happy. Her baby was born quite early and was in the NICU. She had also tested positive for meth, and was facing some difficult days ahead. We talked several times about what she needed to do to become the Mom she wanted to be. We prayed together and I got her to commit to several things. Then she left. I don't know what has happened to her and probably never will. But I still think of her and pray for her.
Lunch- Hospital cafeteria is the best meal you will find for $4.25.
After lunch is usually open for various things. Sometimes I will walk around the hospital to visit people and to be seen. Sometimes I will go down to the ER and visit staff and patients. Other times people stop by to talk.
Counseling- Any day, any time, people might stop by for counseling. Most of the counseling we do is related to relationships/marriage. Others come in who are dealing with grief or work related stress. Here's one example. A couple comes to visit me and the wife informs me that she needs help forgiving her husband because he cheated on her for 6 months while on deployment. She wants to stay with him, but is finding it really hard. So over the course of several weeks we worked on helping them through. After a while I strongly encouraged them to go to their pastor (since they were active in a church) for help since they needed to have local support. I haven't seen them since. I hope things have gone well.
Odds and ends- I also have other things I put together to help. We do a weekly message on our web page, and I am responsible for that. At some point during my day I work on that.
Home-15 miles, sometimes in the sticky heat, other times in pouring rain (dramatic, huh?)
Tuesday
5am- wake up, ride scooter to work
6am, command PT- Tuesday morning is optional for physical training. As a chaplain, however, we are taught to go where our command goes and get involved. And I like it. We usually do push-ups, sit-ups, etc. and about a two mile run. Then I shower at the hospital.
7:30, personal devotions
8am, Command Orientation- Every other week there is an orientation class for all the new people who come the the command. As part of that, the pastoral care department (that's the chaplains-almost always done by me) does a segment to introduce them to what we do. After I give them a quick run down on what we offer, then I do an hour-long brief (nice oxymoron) on suicide prevention. Usually in the military this type of thing is affectionately refered to as "death by powerpoint." I have change our program, and completely done away with teh powerpoint. I now do it as a discussion. So far it has generated a lot of positive feedback. Because people are no longer in a computer induced coma, they get a chance to know me. It has led to a lot of people coming to see me. I have on a couple of occasions been able to help prevent people from suicide because somebody heard something important in the class that led to them getting help, or helping somebody else.
9:30am, patient call- Occasionaly we will get called to visit patients outside of our normal rounds. This happens when a patient requests us or when the staff thinks it would be helpful. Most of these are associated with miscarriages. One time I was called up to the operating room for a lady who had just found that she had lost her baby after 8 weeks. She had been trying for a while and this was her second loss in 6 months. She was catholic and wanted to make sure the baby was baptized. When I ask our Catholic priest to visit her he looked very uncomfortable. Because the baby had already died, there was nothing he could do and he knew it would be awkward talking to the mother. Fortunately, as a Mormon I believe that the baby didn't need baptism and that its salvation was secured through the atonement of Christ. So I went and visited with her. I prayed with her and promised her I would bless the baby. After her surgery was done I went in and said a prayer over the baby, then I was there with the mother when she woke up. Several weeks later she stopped by the office with some cookies and a card. She told me that she was so impressed and thankful for what I did for her that when they got to their new command (they were moving that week) they were going to donate money to our church.
10:00am, patient visits- Another experience I had in the ICU was with another chaplain's wife. She was there for some issues related to low blood pressure. Her husband, who served in his local baptist church as a chaplain who would visit the sick members of his congregation, told me that she had been struggling with this unknown problem for 2 years and that they had tried desperately to figure out what was wrong. She couldn't stand without fainting. I talked with them and read scriptures with them. Then finally they asked me to pray with them. I had the distinct impression to offer to give her a priesthood blessing...but I chickened out. I guess I assumed that these baptists wouldn't want some Mormon blessing. That weekend in Elder's quorum I taught a lesson about following the spirit I thought again about that situation and prayed that the next time that situation happened I would do the right thing. Well, the next day the same couple was in the hospital. When I offered they gladly accepted and I gave her a blessing. The next day she was gone. I saw them yesterday as I was leaving the hospital. She was in a wheel chair, but she told me that things have gotten much better for her. I was really grateful that God gave me an opportunity for a second chance. One day in the MIU I walked into the room of a mother and new baby that was packed with people. After I explained the the new mother what a chaplain did I asked if I could do anything for her (I made a paper that lists some of the things we offer), the baby's grandmother says, after looking at the paper, "Give her a blessing!" I found out that the family, though they claimed to be christian, had not been to church in years and knew very little about it. I explained to them what I was going to do and why. I ended up giving both the mother and the baby priesthood blessings. When I was finished there was not a dry eye in the room...not even the father or grandfather! Her teenage brother was weeping. I expressed to them God's love for them all and assured them that what they were feeling was the Spirit. I left their room thanking God that I had witnessed him working in the lives of people who had not felt close to Him for a long time, if ever.
11am, discharge planning- Boring meeting. We talk about the patients and make sure the people who are going home are prepared. One time I learned that there was this old man who was causing the staff a lot of problems. He was an alcoholic and 97 years old. The doctors and staff tried to help him and tell him he needed help, but he would yell at them and tell them to leave him alone. This always surprised me because he was always very nice to me. We had had several religious conversations, and he always told me how much he respected Mormons. I had never seen this side of him, but I told them I would do what I could. I went in and talked to him about the story of Christ washing His disciples feet. I told him that, like Peter, we often feel like we need to serve others and take care of ourselves. But in order to be cleansed by Christ we must let him wash us. I told him that God was trying to cleanse him through the help of others. I invited him listen to the doctors and nurses because they were trying to help him the way he needed. He promised he would.
12pm, Bible Study- I started a lunchtime bible study class that people could bring their lunch to and learn about the New Testament. It is a great class. We feel the spirit and learn from each other. One day I was teaching about how Christ turned water to wine, and we were discussing how He can take the mundane things in our life and make them sweet to us. I shared an experience about how I was getting frustrated with the kids and found myself avoiding them. After praying for help I came home one day and the kids were so excited to see me they all tackled me and played with me. I felt God change my heart. After class a couple of people came to me to thank me for that story because they had felt the same thing and the class had answered their prayers.
Code Blue- If there is ever a code blue called in the hospital, one of the chaplains is supposed to go to help comfort the family. Though there have been many called since I have been there, only a few have been serious. One time a code was called on a woman who was in labor and delivery. The anesthesia caused her to have some problems so she had to have and emergency c-section. I went up and stayed with the father while his wife was being operated on. I told him that I knew how he felt because I had been through a similar situation with our first child. I think it helped him to know that things weren't really as bad as it felt.
Counseling- Another experience I had in a counseling session was a young man who was stressed out because he was being deployed. After talking with him a while I could tell that he had some clinical depression. I suggested he go to mental health. We also talked about his spirituality and finding some direction in his life. He asked me to give him a blessing. After I was finished he said, "Hot Damn Chaplain! That was amazing!" I think I knew what he meant. He talked to me a couple of weeks ago. He is doing great!
4pm-home on my sweet scooter
Wednesday
5am, wake up, run 5k, get ready, ride scooter to work.
7am, presurgery visits- It is fairly common to meet mothers whose pregnancy has terminated in the first trimester and who are going in for surgery to remove the baby. It is a good opportunity to teach them because they often have a lot of questions about what will happen to the baby. As a chaplain, if they ask I can answer. I usually say something like, "I believe that..." or "In my faith tradition we teach that..." I have come to learn that as a Mormon chaplain, I am uniquely qualified to comfort those who lose babies. Our doctrine on this offers more joy and hope than any others I am aware of.
8am, morning devotions- Another thing I try to do as part of my devotions is to pray for people. In the hospital chapel is a little box where people can write prayer requests and leave them for the chaplain or priest. I like to go into the chapel and pray for these people. I also pray for patients. Sometimes they don't want me to pray with them, just for them.
9am- Humor/stress workshop- I am on the command stress control team. We teach people various ways to deal with stress. About 10% of our Hospital staff is deployed right now, but the hospital must go forward. That means added stress on everyone. So we teach some short lessons on how people can deal with that stress.
9:30 am Captains Mast- This is a disciplinary measure. Sailors who have gotten themselves into trouble and are going to be punished go to Captain's mast. They are presented before the Commanding Officer and the chain of command to receive their punishment. Usually they are there because of some alcohol related offense, but it could anything from sexual assault to chronic tardiness. Sometimes people are trying to get out of the military so they will do things on purpose. Most of the time, however, the people who are there are experiencing some sort of pain in their life and they don't know how to deal with it so it ends up causing them to make bad decisions and behave poorly. I stand in in case the CO needs my advice or opinion. Many times I have already talked with those who are in trouble. If not, I will approach them afterward to let them know I am here for them.
Patient Call- I once got a call from the ICU requesting my assistance. A young man on a ship had attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself. His life was saved by shipmates doing CPR. But he was basically a vegetable because his brain had gone so long without oxygen. I was called in because the family was arriving. The family was Catholic, which teaches that suicide is a mortal sin. Needless to say this was an awkward moment. Fortunately I don't necessarily share that view. Though we didn't talk about their son's eternal fate, I did pray with them. The also asked me to give him a blessing. As I blessed him I had the distinct impression that God was allowing him to remain in the situation he was in so that he could be healed spiritually. He remained in the ICU for several weeks, though his family was rarely there. I stopped and said hi and offered a silent prayer for him every chance I got.
12pm Jewish Study Group- We have put together a class that discusses various aspects of Judaism. Our Jewish lay leader is a psychologist who went to yashiva and actually worked as a chaplain in a hospital for a while. He does a great job leading a discussion on Judaism that it attended by more christians than Jews. He is also a really good friend of mine. The first day we met and he found out I was Mormon he said, "I'm obsessed with Mormons. I've never met a Mormon that had an ounce of anti-semitism in them. They all seem to have some sort of connection to Judaism." So we quickly became "brothers." Maybe some day I'll explain to him why it feels so much like we are brothers.
Lunch
Patient Visits- One week when I was visiting patients in the inpatient ward I met an man in his 90's and his wife. He had congestive heart failure and knew that it was only a matter of time. His wife was obviously having a difficult time as well. I visited them several times and prayed with them. The wife expressed her deep appreciation. After a couple of days he improved and was discharged. Several weeks later I received a call from the base chapel because I had been requested to officiate in the funeral for this man. It was a wonderful funeral and a wonderful opportunity for me. The family was very gracious. I hope that I was able to offer words of comfort in their time of need.
2pm- work on newspaper article.- The chaplains on the base take turns writing articles for the "chaplain's corner" in the base newspaper. It has to be motivational/inspirational stuff that is not specific to any religious denomination.
Counseling- Another common situation is helping sailors who are struggling with pornography addiction. This is especially difficult in the navy because there are many who don't see anything wrong with it and actually advertise it, and make fun of those who don't want to look. Those who come in for help usually do so because of a spouse or for religious reasons. The trick is to help them to be strong enough that they won't give in when they are deployed. I am trying to put together an addiction recovery program that will dovetail with the 12 step type programs and use the scriptures to teach important principles to help overcoming addiction.



I need to stop now because of time, but I will eventually finish this. I am just going to post it now on the off chance that anybody might read it. I hope I get to finish soon, but I wouldn't hold my breath.