Being There
The Art of Clinical Pastoral Care
By Jon Parham
Staff Chaplain Susan McDougal says she wants patients to know that she cares and she will be there as long as they need her.
A Code Blue alert for a patient in cardiac distress at UAMS Medical Center quickly brings medical help – and a chaplain.
While health professionals tend to the patient’s medical needs, the chaplain offers pastoral support for family members, friends, other patients or employees. In this sometimes emotional situation, a UAMS chaplain may serve as a liaison for the patient and family with physicians, nurses and other caregivers. Perhaps more importantly, they are simply there.
“I want to let them know – whether it’s a patient or a family member – that I care and that I am there for them,” said Susan McDougal, UAMS Medical Center staff chaplain. “I will stay with them as long as they need me.”
This personal connection is key for a chaplain, who is a minister serving in a specialized setting, usually a hospital, prison or the military. At UAMS, chaplains are available for pastoral support 24-hours-a-day.
“Chaplains at UAMS do not proselytize,” said George Hankins-Hull, director of pastoral care and clinical pastoral education training programs at UAMS. “And we’re not here to replace a patient’s own pastor. We’re present to provide emotional and pastoral support during a time of crisis or hospitalization.”
Pastoral care at UAMS is primarily about relationships and the stories people tell about illness. “The least known role of the clinical chaplain is as interpreter of the metaphors and the connections people make while telling their stories that allows them to navigate their hospitalization,” Hankins-Hull said.
“We play a supportive role to help the patient call upon their own faith or philosophy of life as a source of comfort,” said George Buck, Ph.D., a chaplain and instructor in the UAMS clinical pastoral education program.
UAMS chaplains honor each patient’s individual religious traditions and needs. A patient’s own pastor and other representatives of their faith community are welcome to visit patients at any time, and they are often contacted by UAMS chaplains on behalf of patients.
UAMS chaplains make rounds throughout the hospital every day, and they are also on call at all times. Patients and family members may page a chaplain or call the UAMS operator to request a chaplain visit.
The pastoral care team also conducts a nondenominational service every Sunday at 10 a.m. in the hospital’s Walton Chapel. The chapel is open at all other times to accommodate patients, families and those simply seeking a space apart.
The chaplains see patients in the hospital, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and other programs such as the palliative care service, which provides compassionate care for patients living with a severe illness or when the goal of care becomes comfort.
McDougal, a Quaker, is the newest full-time chaplain at the Medical Center, joining the team in June 2011 after completing the UAMS Clinical Pastoral Education program. Her interest in becoming a chaplain was kindled by 18 months spent in prison for refusing to answer grand jury questions related to the Whitewater investigation of then-President Bill Clinton.
“I was frightened in jail,” said McDougal. “These were women at the worst time in their lives, yet they embraced me and cared about me.
“It changed me and made me want to live up to that by offering a personal connection, comfort and caring to those who are in a time of trauma.”
Teaching the Art of Caring
While UAMS is widely known for its academic programs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and other health professions, a lesser-known but strong pastoral education training program is also offered.
About 18 ministers or lay people are chaplains-intraining through the program at any given time. Training can be completed on a full or part-time basis, or over the course of a summer. Pastoral care trainees present clinical case studies on their pastoral interventions and attend seminars while serving as chaplaincy interns or residents. They serve as chaplains for different areas of the hospital, which allows them an opportunity to experience the full range of care settings in a modern medical facility.
Graduates of the program may go on to become boardcertified clinical chaplains through the College of Pastoral Teaching the Art of Caring Supervision & Psychotherapy, the national organization that accredits the training programs at UAMS.
George Hankins-Hull, director of pastoral care and clinical pastoral education at UAMS, has led the program since 2005 and says it attracts people from all faith backgrounds. That was the case with him, a Methodist pastor in Northern Ireland who was drawn to the clinical model of pastoral training as the best means of caring for others.
George Buck, Ph.D., a chaplain and instructor in the UAMS clinical pastoral education program, who led the program prior to Hankins-Hull, is retired from working as a full-time chaplain, but still enjoys teaching in the program. “It is a privilege to supervise people through their spiritual growth and development,” said Buck.
The Art of Clinical Pastoral Care
By Jon Parham
Staff Chaplain Susan McDougal says she wants patients to know that she cares and she will be there as long as they need her.
A Code Blue alert for a patient in cardiac distress at UAMS Medical Center quickly brings medical help – and a chaplain.
While health professionals tend to the patient’s medical needs, the chaplain offers pastoral support for family members, friends, other patients or employees. In this sometimes emotional situation, a UAMS chaplain may serve as a liaison for the patient and family with physicians, nurses and other caregivers. Perhaps more importantly, they are simply there.
“I want to let them know – whether it’s a patient or a family member – that I care and that I am there for them,” said Susan McDougal, UAMS Medical Center staff chaplain. “I will stay with them as long as they need me.”
This personal connection is key for a chaplain, who is a minister serving in a specialized setting, usually a hospital, prison or the military. At UAMS, chaplains are available for pastoral support 24-hours-a-day.
“Chaplains at UAMS do not proselytize,” said George Hankins-Hull, director of pastoral care and clinical pastoral education training programs at UAMS. “And we’re not here to replace a patient’s own pastor. We’re present to provide emotional and pastoral support during a time of crisis or hospitalization.”
Pastoral care at UAMS is primarily about relationships and the stories people tell about illness. “The least known role of the clinical chaplain is as interpreter of the metaphors and the connections people make while telling their stories that allows them to navigate their hospitalization,” Hankins-Hull said.
“We play a supportive role to help the patient call upon their own faith or philosophy of life as a source of comfort,” said George Buck, Ph.D., a chaplain and instructor in the UAMS clinical pastoral education program.
UAMS chaplains honor each patient’s individual religious traditions and needs. A patient’s own pastor and other representatives of their faith community are welcome to visit patients at any time, and they are often contacted by UAMS chaplains on behalf of patients.
UAMS chaplains make rounds throughout the hospital every day, and they are also on call at all times. Patients and family members may page a chaplain or call the UAMS operator to request a chaplain visit.
The pastoral care team also conducts a nondenominational service every Sunday at 10 a.m. in the hospital’s Walton Chapel. The chapel is open at all other times to accommodate patients, families and those simply seeking a space apart.
The chaplains see patients in the hospital, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and other programs such as the palliative care service, which provides compassionate care for patients living with a severe illness or when the goal of care becomes comfort.
McDougal, a Quaker, is the newest full-time chaplain at the Medical Center, joining the team in June 2011 after completing the UAMS Clinical Pastoral Education program. Her interest in becoming a chaplain was kindled by 18 months spent in prison for refusing to answer grand jury questions related to the Whitewater investigation of then-President Bill Clinton.
“I was frightened in jail,” said McDougal. “These were women at the worst time in their lives, yet they embraced me and cared about me.
“It changed me and made me want to live up to that by offering a personal connection, comfort and caring to those who are in a time of trauma.”
Teaching the Art of Caring
While UAMS is widely known for its academic programs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and other health professions, a lesser-known but strong pastoral education training program is also offered.
About 18 ministers or lay people are chaplains-intraining through the program at any given time. Training can be completed on a full or part-time basis, or over the course of a summer. Pastoral care trainees present clinical case studies on their pastoral interventions and attend seminars while serving as chaplaincy interns or residents. They serve as chaplains for different areas of the hospital, which allows them an opportunity to experience the full range of care settings in a modern medical facility.
Graduates of the program may go on to become boardcertified clinical chaplains through the College of Pastoral Teaching the Art of Caring Supervision & Psychotherapy, the national organization that accredits the training programs at UAMS.
George Hankins-Hull, director of pastoral care and clinical pastoral education at UAMS, has led the program since 2005 and says it attracts people from all faith backgrounds. That was the case with him, a Methodist pastor in Northern Ireland who was drawn to the clinical model of pastoral training as the best means of caring for others.
George Buck, Ph.D., a chaplain and instructor in the UAMS clinical pastoral education program, who led the program prior to Hankins-Hull, is retired from working as a full-time chaplain, but still enjoys teaching in the program. “It is a privilege to supervise people through their spiritual growth and development,” said Buck.