Being Present

A Workshop for Nurses and other Healthcare Professionals on Providing

Excellent Spiritual Care

Presented by Rev. Joel High M.Div, BCC

Chaplain Coordinator / Mission Representative

Alegent Health Lakeside Hospital

Objectives

At the completion of the workshop participants will be able to:

• Discuss the difference between religious and spiritual care.

• Identify ways they can or do provide spiritual care to patients and family members

• Explain how being present is spiritual care.

Being PresentAlegent Health Mission

Faithful to the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, our Mission is to provide high quality care for the body, mind and spirit of every

person. Our commitment to healing calls us to: create caring and compassionate environments

respect the dignity of every person care for the resources entrusted to us as responsible stewards

collaborate with others to improve the health of our communities attend especially to the needs of those who are poor and

disadvantaged act with integrity in all endeavors

To achieve this Mission, we pledge to be creative, visionary leaders committed to holistic healthcare in the region.

Being Present

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a

stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick

and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”-- Gospel of Matthew 25: 35-36

Religion and Spirituality• There are differences between religion

and spirituality.• Religion usually refers to an organized set

of beliefs by a group of people who see themselves as different from others.

• Spirituality deals with individuals beliefs and practices and attempts to relate to a God, the universe, others or one’s self.

Religion and Spirituality

Spirit is a natural dimension

of every person.

-- from Professional Chaplaincy:

Its Role and Importance in Healthcare

Religion and Spirituality

Spirituality…describes an awareness of the relationships with all creation, an appreciation of presence and purpose that includes a sense of meaning.

-- from Professional Chaplaincy: Its Role and Importance in

Healthcare

Religion and Spirituality

Religion focuses on defined structures, rituals, and doctrines.

-- from Professional Chaplaincy:

Its Role and Importance in Healthcare

Religion and Spirituality

My working assumption:

Everything we do/are is spiritual in nature because human beings are spiritual beings.

Spiritual CareWe speak of spiritual care as if it were a special endeavor, relegated to the clergy, therein missing the truth that spirit pervades all we are and do. Every interaction has the potential to negatively or positively affect the spirit. We have only begun to recognize the power of our actions in the lives of the people we care for. So, too, the people we care for have a remarkable ability to affect the lives of carers – who find themselves changed by the very act of care giving. When we allow ourselves and those we care for to touch and enhance each other’s spirits our care will have become truly spiritual.

-- C. Dick-Muehlke (adapted)

Spiritual Needs

• What are spiritual needs?• Spiritual needs can be simple or complex• Some needs that anyone could and should

meet include: loneliness or isolation, fear, anxiety, sadness

• Some spiritual needs that need to be addressed by a chaplain or religious leader include: fear of dying, questions about the afterlife, a need for reconciliation

Being Present

We convince by our presence.

-- Walt Whitman

Being Present

• Ministry of Presence• Taking the time to be with a patient and/or

family member can really help to allay fears, reduce anxiety, and build trust.

• Being Present is simple and is spiritual care that anyone can do.

Being Present

• Martin Buber, I and Thou (1923)• Defined to ways of relating• I-It – Subject-Object; what can I get from

you• I-Thou – Subject-Subject; unity in being• Being Present means seeing the other as

Thou rather than It and affirming their worth and wholeness

Being Present

All of you. All of me.

Body

Mind

Spirit

Being Present

The 3 S’s

• Show Up• Shush• Stay Put

Being Present

What you do• By caring for a person’s body we care for their

spirit• Provide information and hospitality to patients,

family members and visitors• Notice spiritual needs and make referral to the

chaplain• Allow the patient to tell their story

Being Present

What you can do• Be present with the patient• Listen attentively and sensitively acknowledge

their experiences• Ask gentle questions• Let them tell their story• Reassure and support the patient and family• Pray with the patient (Be careful!)• Offer/provide compassionate touch• Refer high spiritual needs/distress to chaplain

Spiritual Screening QuestionsAddressing the Spiritual Needs of all Patients:Nursing & Pastoral Services Working Together

• A Team of Chaplains from across the system have worked with the Center for Nursing Excellence to strengthen this process.

• This team has improved upon the Nursing Screening Question which currently triggers a referral for pastoral services to conduct a more in-depth spiritual assessment.

• This work has resulted in the practice of asking three simple “intentional spiritual screening questions” during the nursing assessment.

Spiritual Screening Questions

“Caring for the Body, Mind and Spirit of Every Person.”

By asking these questions:

• we are providing spiritual care.

• patients are informed of our commitment to care for the spiritual dimension of every person.

• patients are reminded that we value their spiritual resources during their quest for healing.

Spiritual Screening Questions

The Three Questions:

1. Have you experienced any changes or losses in your life recently?

2. Is religion or spirituality important to you during this hospital stay?

3. Do you have a source of spiritual support?

Comfort Touch

• Planetree recommends that Patient-centered organizations offer patients and staff the opportunity to receive “caring touch.”

• A group of staff at LKS have recently created a Comfort Touch Work Team to provide Comfort Touch gentle massage to patients and to support team members in offering comfort touch to patients

Being Present

Questions?

Being Present

“We can live without religion

and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”

Dalai Lama