Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
week 6
Only 2 more weeks left in my internship. This upcoming Monday night is the picnic for the spiritual care deptarment staff and volunteers. I hope to get some pictures. :)
I found out today that there is a new movie coming out, "Arctic Tale," that features a walrus named Seela, pronounced exactly like my name. Of course, the only character ever to share my name is an adolescent walrus. What luck I have. I will definitely be going to see that movie solely on the basis of its name.
Looks like I am going to have a vacation-less summer. Hopefully making money will make up for my lack of a break from work. At least I will have a birthday to celebrate, right? I am really looking forward to the grand birthday party we are all going to share back at FU in the fall. :)
I found out today that there is a new movie coming out, "Arctic Tale," that features a walrus named Seela, pronounced exactly like my name. Of course, the only character ever to share my name is an adolescent walrus. What luck I have. I will definitely be going to see that movie solely on the basis of its name.
Looks like I am going to have a vacation-less summer. Hopefully making money will make up for my lack of a break from work. At least I will have a birthday to celebrate, right? I am really looking forward to the grand birthday party we are all going to share back at FU in the fall. :)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
quote of the week
Today when the four staff chaplains and I were at lunch in the hospital cafeteria, my boss said the funniest thing I have ever heard him say. We were all just chatting about nothing really, like how cold it was in the room. Then Mike, the department manager, just blurts out "I hate this job. I wish I were dead." Oh. My. Gosh. I laughed so hard for about five minutes that I was crying and couldn't breathe. It was as if the person who I was having such a hard time getting along with and understanding, summed up what I had been feeling for the past five weeks. It was incredible and hilarious and made my day. What a way to end the week. :) Only three weeks left to go.
On a side note, it seems as if I am always counting down to something...
On a side note, it seems as if I am always counting down to something...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Week 5
Well, this week has had quite the ups and downs. I'll take it day by day.
Monday
I had 3 floors to cover, so I kept busy all day. Normally I wouldn't be thrilled about having to see so many people, but when I realized that I always had something to do, I was grateful. I was able to visit a patient throughout the week that I met this day, so that was a positive experience.
Tuesday
This day was unbelievably slow. I saw only a few patients, then worked on trying to figure out a new decorating scheme for the chapel. I also helped clean out a cabinet in the office that we were able to get rid of to make room for a new bookshelf that we are getting tomorrow. Really uneventful day - let's just say that I took quite a long lunch.
Wednesday
This was probably the most emotional day for me all summer, so far. In short, we had a 12-year-old boy come in the Emergency Department with no heartbeat or breathing. He had had a bike wreck on the 4th, was fine except for a swollen shoulder and arm, and now was in really bad shape. I stayed with his mom and dad and another volunteer chaplain while he was getting tests done and stuff, then we were just waiting for him to get transferred from the ED to the pediatric intensive care unit. Robert, the other chaplain, decided to wait with them to get moved up there so I could go to lunch because we had already been with them a couple hours. So I went to lunch, but a few minutes after I got back to the office from the cafeteria, Robert called to tell me that the patient had just died. I was stunned - I did not expect him to die at all, and neither did his family. I went back to the ED and saw the family, and had nothing to say really, but just told them I was sorry and then let them go say goodbye to their son before leaving to get their other kids and go plan a funeral. I just don't understand why a little bike wreck could cause a sudden death days later - I think it had something to do with blood clots, but nevertheless, it just isn't fair that that little boy had no chance to wrap up his life or even really live his life. I won't ever forget that experience.
Thursday
Today I shadowed the social worker for the Women's Pavilion, NICU and the moms on the mother-baby floor who have babies in the NICU. I really liked it too. I mean, I realize it was only one day, and we had some really interesting stuff come up, but I still liked it. I am going to shadow a social worker in the ED also, to get that perspective. Perhaps this will be a career option for me, who knows? But today was a good day and I really like the social worker I followed - he is just fantastic. I am on call tonight (with another chaplain too), so I hope and pray I don't have to go into the hospital in the middle of the night. I think you all know that would not be my prime time to try to help people, or even talk to them.
Only 3 more weeks left, so I hope that I learn all that I need to and wrap up the internship appropriately. Each week seems eternal, but time really is flying by this summer. I need a vacation.
Monday
I had 3 floors to cover, so I kept busy all day. Normally I wouldn't be thrilled about having to see so many people, but when I realized that I always had something to do, I was grateful. I was able to visit a patient throughout the week that I met this day, so that was a positive experience.
Tuesday
This day was unbelievably slow. I saw only a few patients, then worked on trying to figure out a new decorating scheme for the chapel. I also helped clean out a cabinet in the office that we were able to get rid of to make room for a new bookshelf that we are getting tomorrow. Really uneventful day - let's just say that I took quite a long lunch.
Wednesday
This was probably the most emotional day for me all summer, so far. In short, we had a 12-year-old boy come in the Emergency Department with no heartbeat or breathing. He had had a bike wreck on the 4th, was fine except for a swollen shoulder and arm, and now was in really bad shape. I stayed with his mom and dad and another volunteer chaplain while he was getting tests done and stuff, then we were just waiting for him to get transferred from the ED to the pediatric intensive care unit. Robert, the other chaplain, decided to wait with them to get moved up there so I could go to lunch because we had already been with them a couple hours. So I went to lunch, but a few minutes after I got back to the office from the cafeteria, Robert called to tell me that the patient had just died. I was stunned - I did not expect him to die at all, and neither did his family. I went back to the ED and saw the family, and had nothing to say really, but just told them I was sorry and then let them go say goodbye to their son before leaving to get their other kids and go plan a funeral. I just don't understand why a little bike wreck could cause a sudden death days later - I think it had something to do with blood clots, but nevertheless, it just isn't fair that that little boy had no chance to wrap up his life or even really live his life. I won't ever forget that experience.
Thursday
Today I shadowed the social worker for the Women's Pavilion, NICU and the moms on the mother-baby floor who have babies in the NICU. I really liked it too. I mean, I realize it was only one day, and we had some really interesting stuff come up, but I still liked it. I am going to shadow a social worker in the ED also, to get that perspective. Perhaps this will be a career option for me, who knows? But today was a good day and I really like the social worker I followed - he is just fantastic. I am on call tonight (with another chaplain too), so I hope and pray I don't have to go into the hospital in the middle of the night. I think you all know that would not be my prime time to try to help people, or even talk to them.
Only 3 more weeks left, so I hope that I learn all that I need to and wrap up the internship appropriately. Each week seems eternal, but time really is flying by this summer. I need a vacation.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
brief update
An update on the job:
I am learning to have patience and to not chew out my boss each and every day when he calls me "the intern" and acts like I have no brain cells. Seriously, I go to Furman and I make good grades without much studying. If he only knew that my theology is not going to change because of his narrow-minded rants about Lutherans vs. Nazarenes when he should be working on his communication skills. I just don't respect someone who chews out his banker and then tells me how well he knows Paul's writings about "true" Christianity. It would be nice if the hospital chaplain would care about people and try to encourage those who are taking care of them.
But that's just a little of how I feel about the arrogant asshole.
I am learning to have patience and to not chew out my boss each and every day when he calls me "the intern" and acts like I have no brain cells. Seriously, I go to Furman and I make good grades without much studying. If he only knew that my theology is not going to change because of his narrow-minded rants about Lutherans vs. Nazarenes when he should be working on his communication skills. I just don't respect someone who chews out his banker and then tells me how well he knows Paul's writings about "true" Christianity. It would be nice if the hospital chaplain would care about people and try to encourage those who are taking care of them.
But that's just a little of how I feel about the arrogant asshole.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Week 2
Well this week I visited patients on my own for the first time. It is really intimidating walking into a hospital room, introducing yourself and asking someone if they want to talk to you or not. It's kind of like being in sales, and you are selling your time and conversation. Most people will chat for a few minutes, but you have some that are like, "You're a chaplain? No, I don't really want to talk." Then you leave the room feeling dejected and intimidated yet again. But there are a few patients that are really grateful for your company. Some people don't get any visitors in the hospital, and they are there for an extended amount of time, so they really like having someone just sit and listen to them. The average age of the patients (not on the pediatrics floor) is probably 75, so they really like to talk about the past and their lives when they were younger. Sometimes I get to pray with them, but most of the time we just chat for a while and I go on my merry way.
One role that chaplains play that I have yet to experience is dealing with the family of very sick or injured patients, or with the death of a patient. Some patients I talked with have died, but I just hear about it later from the nursing staff. Every time there has been a critical situation in the Emergency Department, I have not been there to deal with the family. Yesterday, however, we had a very exciting experience concerning a gunshot victim, a code blue (loss of a heart beat) and running through the hospital lobby to get to the operating room, all this with a nurse standing on the edge of the gurney doing chest compressions. The staff chaplain and I followed them, I guess to be there if the patient died, but we really served no purpose because the patient had no family or friends there. It was very exciting to see the emergency department staff jump into action and rush the patient to surgery. Very E.R. ...
Yesterday and today I was able to do a few projects in the office, preparing for next week. Michelle, one of the staff chaplains, and I are going to be serving tea and some baked goods to the nurses on 5 floors of the hosptil next week. I made about 100 cards with a prayer on them to give out to the nurses when they come by the cart we will have stationed in their respective break rooms. I also made some signs for a parent support club for parents with children in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). We will be starting that next week as well, I think. I enjoyed the time doing computer work, opposed to my usual tasks of wandering around finding people to talk to. I have met some people that I had great conversations with, and there were a few that really inspired me to keep going, even though I do have a lot of down time in the office. It's not a fast-paced job at all, so I am learning patience as well. I also got to go to some rounds meetings in the NICU and the Women's Pavilion (which is where women who have pregnancy problems or other specifically female problems go). That is where all the people in charge talk about the patients, their problems, what they are doing for them and when the patients can potentially be discharged. I enjoyed that a lot as well - the staff is really great.
On Monday I am giving my first verbatim, which is a word-for-word (as best you can remember) write-up of a conversation with a patient, then a self-critique of your visit and interaction with them. I fully anticipate the chaplains ripping mine apart and telling me all the things I could have done better. But hey, I've only been doing this on my own for a week, right?
One role that chaplains play that I have yet to experience is dealing with the family of very sick or injured patients, or with the death of a patient. Some patients I talked with have died, but I just hear about it later from the nursing staff. Every time there has been a critical situation in the Emergency Department, I have not been there to deal with the family. Yesterday, however, we had a very exciting experience concerning a gunshot victim, a code blue (loss of a heart beat) and running through the hospital lobby to get to the operating room, all this with a nurse standing on the edge of the gurney doing chest compressions. The staff chaplain and I followed them, I guess to be there if the patient died, but we really served no purpose because the patient had no family or friends there. It was very exciting to see the emergency department staff jump into action and rush the patient to surgery. Very E.R. ...
Yesterday and today I was able to do a few projects in the office, preparing for next week. Michelle, one of the staff chaplains, and I are going to be serving tea and some baked goods to the nurses on 5 floors of the hosptil next week. I made about 100 cards with a prayer on them to give out to the nurses when they come by the cart we will have stationed in their respective break rooms. I also made some signs for a parent support club for parents with children in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). We will be starting that next week as well, I think. I enjoyed the time doing computer work, opposed to my usual tasks of wandering around finding people to talk to. I have met some people that I had great conversations with, and there were a few that really inspired me to keep going, even though I do have a lot of down time in the office. It's not a fast-paced job at all, so I am learning patience as well. I also got to go to some rounds meetings in the NICU and the Women's Pavilion (which is where women who have pregnancy problems or other specifically female problems go). That is where all the people in charge talk about the patients, their problems, what they are doing for them and when the patients can potentially be discharged. I enjoyed that a lot as well - the staff is really great.
On Monday I am giving my first verbatim, which is a word-for-word (as best you can remember) write-up of a conversation with a patient, then a self-critique of your visit and interaction with them. I fully anticipate the chaplains ripping mine apart and telling me all the things I could have done better. But hey, I've only been doing this on my own for a week, right?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
First Day
Today was my first day in the hospital. I got a really cool name badge that is my access to everything in the hospital. I felt extremely superior as I was able to beep open doors in the ER and other units. I am clearly not superior though, as I got lost on more than one occasion. The ER units were extremely confusing - I am going to have to get a map for a little while.
Most of my day was spent in a staff meeting with the chaplains (Mike, Dorothy, Nathan and Michelle - and yes, their coolness factor is in direct correlation with the coolness of their names), where I listened to them argue about their volunteer program - who should do what, what they could all wear, what their name badges should say, yada, yada, yada. Then they proceeded to argue about whether or not they, the staff chaplains, should wear clerical collars once a week or once a month or even at all. I didn't realize it was such a big deal, but apparently it is. It was terribly boring, and by the end of the meeting I had a great plan for them, but I didn't volunteer my ideas, as they all thought they were right and did not want the intern's opinion. Oh, yeah, they call me "the intern" and I feel like Ryan from The Office. :)
The highlight of my day was when Dorothy and I responded to a cardiac arrest code in the ER. We got to stand in the trauma bay as the various teams worked on the patient. I don't really know what purpose we served, as the patient was unconscious and his sister never arrived - I really felt like I was in the way more than I helped. It was really cool though. I have read about trauma bays and all that in my favorite book (In The Blink of an Eye by Alan Doelp), and today I saw a really mild version of that. I did see them put a catheter in the man, and that was disgusting. I guess I am going to have to get used to stuff like that if I plan on being present in traumatic situations.
I didn't really do anything today beyond touring the hospital, getting lost, sitting in a meeting for 3 hours, eating in the cafeteria (worse than the DH), going to the ER and some more sitting around. Tomorrow I am supposed to start shadowing the chaplains and doing some rounds with them, so that should be good. By the end of next week or the beginning of the next I expect to be doing rounds on my own. Mondays and Tuesdays I will be in the Women's Pavilion - where women with problems unique to women go. Wednesdays and Thursdays I will be in Pediatrics and Pediatric ICU, and on Fridays I will be on one of the surgery floors. I expect that I will be called to do other things as the need arises, and I hope to get to work in the ER some. And with the fire department and police department chaplains too. Who knows, we will see. At least I didn't come home today dead tired and covered in sawdust!
As the summer progresses, I will dedicate some time and space to describing the individual chaplains to you - it is an interesting bunch and to say the least, it will definitely test my patience these next 3 months.
Most of my day was spent in a staff meeting with the chaplains (Mike, Dorothy, Nathan and Michelle - and yes, their coolness factor is in direct correlation with the coolness of their names), where I listened to them argue about their volunteer program - who should do what, what they could all wear, what their name badges should say, yada, yada, yada. Then they proceeded to argue about whether or not they, the staff chaplains, should wear clerical collars once a week or once a month or even at all. I didn't realize it was such a big deal, but apparently it is. It was terribly boring, and by the end of the meeting I had a great plan for them, but I didn't volunteer my ideas, as they all thought they were right and did not want the intern's opinion. Oh, yeah, they call me "the intern" and I feel like Ryan from The Office. :)
The highlight of my day was when Dorothy and I responded to a cardiac arrest code in the ER. We got to stand in the trauma bay as the various teams worked on the patient. I don't really know what purpose we served, as the patient was unconscious and his sister never arrived - I really felt like I was in the way more than I helped. It was really cool though. I have read about trauma bays and all that in my favorite book (In The Blink of an Eye by Alan Doelp), and today I saw a really mild version of that. I did see them put a catheter in the man, and that was disgusting. I guess I am going to have to get used to stuff like that if I plan on being present in traumatic situations.
I didn't really do anything today beyond touring the hospital, getting lost, sitting in a meeting for 3 hours, eating in the cafeteria (worse than the DH), going to the ER and some more sitting around. Tomorrow I am supposed to start shadowing the chaplains and doing some rounds with them, so that should be good. By the end of next week or the beginning of the next I expect to be doing rounds on my own. Mondays and Tuesdays I will be in the Women's Pavilion - where women with problems unique to women go. Wednesdays and Thursdays I will be in Pediatrics and Pediatric ICU, and on Fridays I will be on one of the surgery floors. I expect that I will be called to do other things as the need arises, and I hope to get to work in the ER some. And with the fire department and police department chaplains too. Who knows, we will see. At least I didn't come home today dead tired and covered in sawdust!
As the summer progresses, I will dedicate some time and space to describing the individual chaplains to you - it is an interesting bunch and to say the least, it will definitely test my patience these next 3 months.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
I have finished another book today. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. I don't know if I would recommend it, but it was pretty good. It was kind of disturbing, and left me unsettled. But it was a good read and an interesting perspective on heaven and the interaction between the living and the dead. But now I am on to my next book, the 4th in a series for which I have been waiting for a couple years. Ok, it may have been out for a while, but I just got it yesterday. I start work on Monday, so my reading will probably peter off a bit.
But until then, I am going to go read myself to sleep again. I love this. :)
But until then, I am going to go read myself to sleep again. I love this. :)
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Today I think the high was 60 degrees. I was cold all day. This does not feel like summer vacation! I did, however, finish the book I started in the airport in Atlanta, so it was a good day overall. I forgot how much I love to lose myself in a book - this is what I used to do, read all the time. That is what I did, just read and read. I miss that since college - I feel guilty reading things I want to read when I have homework I should be reading. I should not let that deter me from good books though. My goal this summer, when I have no homework, is a book a week. I have a list that I want to work through, but if y'all have any recommendations, I am open to them for sure. Today I finished The Emperor of Ocean Park. It's a random novel I picked up in the ATL airport, and it was fairly good. It's a legal novel, so I didn't understand a lot of the legal jargon, but the story was intriguing and the character development thorough. I do enjoy John Grisham novels better though - he is definitely a more fluid writer.
I start work on Monday, and I am ready for it! I have enjoyed this week of nothing to do, but I am ready to have a reason to get up in the morning other than, well, it's morning and that's what I have to do. I am trying to catch up on my rest so that I will be able to function in a 9-5 job like most Americans do. I am really looking forward to it though, and I will keep this updated as I experience and learn new things, which is inevitable.
Mom's friend Elaine is here from Tennessee for the weekend, and it's kind of weird to see her here in CO. It's good though. On the drive back from the airport tonight, we were talking about people we all know, people from our past. Talking about those people made me think a lot about the past few years and how differently life has turned out than I ever thought it would be. I enjoy my life, but it's just different than I had imagined. I wonder what I will say after the next seven years pass. Wow, this month it will be seven years that we have lived in CO. Unbelievable! I feel like we just got here and that we have been here forever! Just like college, eh? Now I have three places to call home - Kingsport, Colorado Springs and Greenville. Again, who knows what other places I will be able to add to this list in another seven years!
Ok, enough of this introspective rambling. I am off to bed to start another book! Ah, summer.... :)
I start work on Monday, and I am ready for it! I have enjoyed this week of nothing to do, but I am ready to have a reason to get up in the morning other than, well, it's morning and that's what I have to do. I am trying to catch up on my rest so that I will be able to function in a 9-5 job like most Americans do. I am really looking forward to it though, and I will keep this updated as I experience and learn new things, which is inevitable.
Mom's friend Elaine is here from Tennessee for the weekend, and it's kind of weird to see her here in CO. It's good though. On the drive back from the airport tonight, we were talking about people we all know, people from our past. Talking about those people made me think a lot about the past few years and how differently life has turned out than I ever thought it would be. I enjoy my life, but it's just different than I had imagined. I wonder what I will say after the next seven years pass. Wow, this month it will be seven years that we have lived in CO. Unbelievable! I feel like we just got here and that we have been here forever! Just like college, eh? Now I have three places to call home - Kingsport, Colorado Springs and Greenville. Again, who knows what other places I will be able to add to this list in another seven years!
Ok, enough of this introspective rambling. I am off to bed to start another book! Ah, summer.... :)
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
I have finished my junior year of college!!! Ok, well, I was done on Monday, but whatever. I can hardly believe it is already over. This was by far the fastest year of college, and I am going to guess that next year will go by even faster. I am packing and saying goodbye to friends and just bumming around campus until graduation on Saturday, ATL on Sunday, then home on Monday. Hooray for summer!!!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
American Idol and classes are over. Jordin won and I finished my term paper. Tomorrow I am going to sleep in and then study after getting a free lunch and gift in financial aid. All good things, right? Then only 3 exams and I am free. I hope that my few days at Furman after exams and before graduation are not too boring, and that I don't wish I had just gone home straightaway. Summer is so close that I can almost taste it, but it seems so far away. I am sooooo ready for it, but really have no idea what it will hold. My life is pretty much all uncertainty these days. So don't ask me what I am doing with my life or even with the summer after I graduate, because I have absolutely no idea.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
14 days until I am a senior!
Well, beach weekend is over! About 10 of us went to John's lake house in Tate, GA, and had a great time. Quite different from the last time we went to Tate - mainly because it wasn't freezing cold! I jumped off the 30-foot tower, and I am quite proud of myself. I did a minimal amount of reading over the weekend, so this week is crazy as I try to catch up and even get ahead since I am going to ATL for this upcoming weekend for Tyler's graduation. Being gone 2 weekends in a row the last few weeks of school is not good for all the projects, papers and exams I have. I am just having to devote all my free time to the library and whatever other computer lab I decide to try out. It's strange - all this work is what I had imagined college was going to be, but it's only at the end of terms that I find myself actually working the days and nights away. I am going to be so glad when this is all over! Only 2 more weeks, well, only one more week of classes, as of today, and then finals. And then I will be a senior. Scary...
So here is a rough outline of upcoming events in my life (besides class, work, meetings and homework):
Wed. 16: American Idol
Thurs. 17: The Office finale and Courtney's birthday
Fri. 18: to ATL!
Sun. 20: back to FU, and Kaylah and Annie-D come!
Mon. 21: Italy reunion
Tues. 22: American Idol
Wed. 23: last day of class, American Idol finale!
Thurs. 24: study day
Fri. 25: Pentateuch exam
Mon. 28: Com. Law and Christian Thought exams - I'm done!!!
Sat., June 2: FU grauduation
Sun. 3: to ATL with Kristin
Mon. 4: HOME!!!
Ok, so that list was a bit extensive, but look how busy I am with important events!!!
So here is a rough outline of upcoming events in my life (besides class, work, meetings and homework):
Wed. 16: American Idol
Thurs. 17: The Office finale and Courtney's birthday
Fri. 18: to ATL!
Sun. 20: back to FU, and Kaylah and Annie-D come!
Mon. 21: Italy reunion
Tues. 22: American Idol
Wed. 23: last day of class, American Idol finale!
Thurs. 24: study day
Fri. 25: Pentateuch exam
Mon. 28: Com. Law and Christian Thought exams - I'm done!!!
Sat., June 2: FU grauduation
Sun. 3: to ATL with Kristin
Mon. 4: HOME!!!
Ok, so that list was a bit extensive, but look how busy I am with important events!!!
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