Chronic Disease with Progressive Disability: Role of the Spiritually Trained Clinician
Daniel Finkelstein, M.D., M.A. (Theology), Andreas C. Dracopoulos Professor of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins Univeristy/School of Medicine
Thomas Y.(Ty) Crowe, II, M. Div., B.C.C., Johns Hopkins Hospital
Fr. Jordan Kelly, O.P., Johns Hopkins Hospital
Disease that is unexpected , disease that is chronic and causing increasing disability, these, particularly, may cause suffering to the patient, unrecognized as being, at least in part, on a spiritual basis, even if the patient does not recognize the spirituality role. The spiritual suffering may be reflected in the accompanying family and friends as well, without recognizing its spiritual basis. This aspect of the suffering may be greater than the physical pain and/or disability; the suffering may be related to, for example, the concern that the disease may “seem unfair”, with this “lack of fairness” not yet recognized as the spiritual component of the suffering.
In our large teaching institution, the negligence in not bringing religion/spirituality to the suffering component reflects a lack of familiarity with patient and clinician religious practices that represent the spiritual component that causes the suffering. We wished, therefore, to initiate a program that would encourage familiarity, for the teaching clinician, to encourage a compassionate team who will encourage the patient to recognize that the suffering may have a spiritual component, to place the suffering in a less unpleasant component, thereby permitting the clinical care team to approach the patient’s suffering in a manner less unpleasant, in a manner that will assist the patient in placing less blame on a spiritual cause.
In our hospital, the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy will support the denomination chaplains with new educational practices.
To encourage less spiritual suffering and to support both the clinical staff as well as the Pastoral leader, one hour sessions were provided for the spiritual care and Chaplaincy participants in order to encourage expertise in Pastoral training that was initiated in our institution by a gifted Catholic Priest along with a one-hour luncheon session that was provided without charge at the time of a question and answer session for the training personnel. Some of these training sessions were accompanied by a Catholic Mass provided by the Catholic Priest; the Pastoral aspect of the daily Mass significantly encouraged increased attendance by clinical personnel. We plan to monitor attendance at the Catholic Mass and attendance to the one-hour luncheon sessions as a partial indication of the program success.
The educational meetings for the hospital clinical personnel emphasize the importance of acknowledging the patient spirituality and its suffering. These efforts toward understanding and relieving spiritual suffering are expected to promote improved patient care; clinicians who were previously unaware of the spiritual aspects of suffering now understand initiation of these concepts with patients who, with their accompanying family and friends, are now able to recognize and to assist the spiritual suffering that seems to run contrary to God’s plan.
Thomas Y.(Ty) Crowe, II, M. Div., B.C.C., Johns Hopkins Hospital
Fr. Jordan Kelly, O.P., Johns Hopkins Hospital
Disease that is unexpected , disease that is chronic and causing increasing disability, these, particularly, may cause suffering to the patient, unrecognized as being, at least in part, on a spiritual basis, even if the patient does not recognize the spirituality role. The spiritual suffering may be reflected in the accompanying family and friends as well, without recognizing its spiritual basis. This aspect of the suffering may be greater than the physical pain and/or disability; the suffering may be related to, for example, the concern that the disease may “seem unfair”, with this “lack of fairness” not yet recognized as the spiritual component of the suffering.
In our large teaching institution, the negligence in not bringing religion/spirituality to the suffering component reflects a lack of familiarity with patient and clinician religious practices that represent the spiritual component that causes the suffering. We wished, therefore, to initiate a program that would encourage familiarity, for the teaching clinician, to encourage a compassionate team who will encourage the patient to recognize that the suffering may have a spiritual component, to place the suffering in a less unpleasant component, thereby permitting the clinical care team to approach the patient’s suffering in a manner less unpleasant, in a manner that will assist the patient in placing less blame on a spiritual cause.
In our hospital, the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy will support the denomination chaplains with new educational practices.
To encourage less spiritual suffering and to support both the clinical staff as well as the Pastoral leader, one hour sessions were provided for the spiritual care and Chaplaincy participants in order to encourage expertise in Pastoral training that was initiated in our institution by a gifted Catholic Priest along with a one-hour luncheon session that was provided without charge at the time of a question and answer session for the training personnel. Some of these training sessions were accompanied by a Catholic Mass provided by the Catholic Priest; the Pastoral aspect of the daily Mass significantly encouraged increased attendance by clinical personnel. We plan to monitor attendance at the Catholic Mass and attendance to the one-hour luncheon sessions as a partial indication of the program success.
The educational meetings for the hospital clinical personnel emphasize the importance of acknowledging the patient spirituality and its suffering. These efforts toward understanding and relieving spiritual suffering are expected to promote improved patient care; clinicians who were previously unaware of the spiritual aspects of suffering now understand initiation of these concepts with patients who, with their accompanying family and friends, are now able to recognize and to assist the spiritual suffering that seems to run contrary to God’s plan.