So this is going to be a little different than the normal topics around here. No going spiritual, or prayerful, we're talking about shoes and bags!
CPE requires accessories. You wouldn't think so at first, after all it's supposed to be all about caring for others, but my old CAP training comes in handy here. You can't take care of anyone if you aren't well/rested/fed/hydrated/comfortable/etc yourself. And like the army perhaps the thing that most needs care during CPE is your feet. You will be walking and standing for hours. You will be trudging up and down hospital hallways, standing for hours with a family, and generally putting a lot of miles on your feet. Most CPE departments require either clericals or professional dress, tennis shoes are a no-no (they're not terribly good for standing anyway.) You could spend big bucks on certified nurses shoes but I'm here to tell you they'll look awful and you will never wear them again. So why waste your money? I suggest for any new chaplain a pair of Dansko clogs (here's what I have).
My current pair were bought in 2005 (that's right 5), they walked all over Scotland and England. Then they spent the next three years as my everyday work shoes. Then they were my winter seminary shoe. Four years after purchase, two continents, untold hours they are now cruising the halls of the hospital and my feet are the only things that aren't tired by the time I get home. Seriously, these are shoes I bring along when I'll have to wear something else and slip them on at the first opportunity. If you're prepping for CPE or know someone who is these are an investment that can't go wrong. (Hint on finding these: try a tack store, Dansko are big with horse people.)
The other thing you'll need? A bag. Now you could go with a backpack but I prefer a slightly different shape and a more professional look. You will be the hospital's minister, start dressing the part. I stumbled on Janine King's bags a while back and bought one of her laptop sleeves and loved it, then a little gadget bags to use as a purse out and around Austin (just fits phone, credit card, license, keys, chapstick, a bit of money). I loved it as well. So I went back to her store and bought one of her shoulder bags (example). It has been wonderful. Big enough to hold a BIG medical charting folder, various books, pockets for pagers, phone, keys, id, etc. It zips shut (a requirement for me), it stays organized, I can pack overnight in it, and yet it isn't so huge that it makes me look ridiculous carrying it. Best of all, if I get stopped by a patient or staff member on my way in or out I don't look like a seminarian schlepping around, I look like a professional, someone they an have confidence in. PeaceBang taught me well, and she's right ladies and gents, it's important we look the part.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
CPE Reviews
Some observations
I am on the downhill slope, so to speak, of CPE. The end is in sight, and the weeks are rolling by more quickly than I had expected. So here are some quick impressions:
- This hospital is big. So big that after six weeks here I'm still getting called to floors I didn't know existed. (Obviously I know it was there numerically, something has to hold up the 10th floor but the department was a total surprise.)
- Doctors and nurses are often more relieved the see the chaplain than patients. Think you don't know what to say to a family whose loved one has died? Medical people are even worse at it.
- The best guys to get to know for a laugh in the midst of a bad situation are the security officers. There's something about carrying a gun in a hospital that seems to require a certain level of humor.
- By half way through CPE all your church's rules about who can do what (like anointing, blessing with the sign of the cross, etc) will have ceased to even cross your mind, you just do what the patient needs and, surprise, God shows up.
- No matter how tired and worn out you are standing beside someone's bed and holding their hands tight while the talk always gives you a second wind.
- Mary and I are on speaking terms now, she features frequently in my prayers, as frequently as Jesus. I'm cool with that.
- We all have a great deal to learn from each other.
- My ability to communicate in Spanish is still frustratingly lacking. But I can explain that I'm la ministra, so that's a start. And everyone is universally gracious at not laughing hysterically at my accent.
- That is all for now!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Rain song
The song singing through the leaves
of the wind blown trees outside
is the same melody that plays
with the strings of my heart
plucking quivering notes
from that often reluctant instrument
with the same ease as
it brings forth the symphony
of the rain storm, breaking
against the hard edges of the city
and softening us all with
its drumming.
