The Hopefully Unnecessary

I think one of the weirdest things about Chaplaincy, both in the hospital and back when I was a Hospice chaplain, is that if everything is as it should be, how unnecessary we are. Even if you assume that all the stuff that can land people in Hospitals and Hospices will always be happening, ideally people will always have appropriate systems in place to help them cope with everything life can throw at them.

Today on a nurse's request I visited a cancer patient and her family who were having difficulty coping. They hadn't slept all the previous night, the night after the diagnosis, and so when it was clear that everyone in the room was sleeping, I postponed my visit to later in the day. When I made it back, I was thanked for my visit but informed that the family's pastor had already been by, and that while things were hard, they were feeling much better, and would call me if they needed me.

You see, that's awesome. So few people today have systems like that in place. Sure, had I shown up a little earlier, I might have gotten to do some extra care, and so felt a little left out. (It takes a while for some nurses to trust Chaplains, and I had really wanted to make good on that visit.) But what was really important was that spiritual care was in place for this family, and they knew now how to reach me or another staff chaplain if something came up.

So, I finished my rounds (all good so far, but don't use the "q" word,) and came back to the office with some pretty boring charting to do. Chaplains are here for when all is not as it should be, for the families that don't have those systems in place, or do but can't access them. At best we are available for relief care, picking up the slack whenever the regular spiritual supporters can't be there.

If you'll forgive the sports metaphor, this must be a what a punter feels like. If you're having a great day, odds are your team isn't doing very well. The need is there, and I am glad to fill it, but it will definitely be a check against me going into chaplaincy in the future, at least so far as medicine is concerned. Great as it is to be there for people when things break down, I think I kinda prefer to be on the front lines of spiritual care.

When I am, though, I sure do hope I have some top notch chaplains behind me.