This story was originally published on UNC Media Hub.
At Duke University Hospital in Durham, interfaith chaplains comfort patients, families and friends, and even staff.
“As I tell the students, and I deeply believe this, the chaplains do the heavy lifting in a hospital for emotional suffering,” Stan Yancey said. “When a patient hears a diagnosis, they really wish they had not heard or did not hope for then chaplains are called in because we respond to that emotional situation.”
Yancey recently retired from Duke University Hospital as a clinical pastoral educator, during which he guided interns and residents.
“It's deeply meaningful and fulfilling,” he said. “I would say it's just as fulfilling as it is draining. That’s the other side of the coin.”
Yancey’s previous students dealt with the emotionally draining aspect of the job through weekly group process sessions.
“It's pretty free-flowing where students can talk about whatever they like. And we encourage them to talk about if they've had particularly challenging, stressful situations or how that feels to them and how they're taking care of themself.”
About a 25-minute drive from Durham is the N.C. Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Jared Webb sits inside the John M. Reeves All Faiths Chapel. Webb is a second-year resident chaplain at UNC Hospitals.
“Lot of deaths happen during the day, but at night when you're by yourself, it's even more emotional on you because you don't have the support of your team,” Webb said. “So you see a lot of deaths, you see a lot of traumas, and it wears on you emotionally and physically.
During the day, there are chaplains who cover specific units in addition to a chaplain who works a 12-hour shift on call. But overnight from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., one chaplain is responsible for covering all units. When Webb isn’t on call, he’s covering the medicine unit.
“Before I step into a situation like that, I meditate,” he said. “I take a few moments to gather myself. I concentrate on my breathing, and then I try to go in there with a clear mind, understanding that this is my job and this is what I have to do.”
Frank Harris is the manager of pastoral care services at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
“I think I would rather feel the pain with that family,” Harris said. “Now, I'm not there to deal with my pain in that moment. I'll deal with my own stuff later. But I think there needs to be something where I feel what they're feeling.”
Harris said he tries to notice the symptoms he’s getting burned out early on.
“When I'm becoming numb to some of those events, that's when I start to think about what I need to do for self-care,” he said.
Yancey says that anyone who wants to pursue chaplaincy has to take care of themselves because they can’t offer much to others if they themselves are emotionally depleted.
