What to Do

I figured it was about time to let y’all in on what I actually do at Ochsner.


On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I get up and go to the gym at work. I get to the office about 8 and review my list of patients. I have the privilege of visiting all the new patients on floors 5, 7, 9, and 11. Floors 5 and 7 are the surgical floors which mean that all the patients that I visit on those floors are either about to have surgery has just gotten out of surgery. Floor 7 and 11 are regular patient beds. I usually spend my mornings making rounds and trying to visit with the patients. I introduce the Pastoral Care office, Check to see if there is anything that I can do for them (the patient or the family), check their religious status in case they are Catholic in which case I ask if they want to be seen by the priest or the Eucharistic ministers, and then I offer to pray with them and or for them. At first offering to pray for someone that I did not know was difficult. I had always prayed at church and on my own but having someone look at me as the connection between them and God was weird. It’s the end of October and I am just now getting comfortable asking people if I can pray with them. I find my prayers are becoming more sincere and more from the heart whereas before I was praying from I had picked up doing from doing visits with my supervisor Mike. I usually visit somewhere between 20-30 patients each morning. After I visit the patients I have to chart my visits. This is probably the most boring part of my day. I have never had so much responsibility.

I also help out around the office in the morning. I answer the phones and do paperwork for Mrs. Pat who runs the office while she takes a break. Around 11. I also make Care Bags. Care Bags are what the nurses revive when a patient dies. The bag includes: 1 chocolate bar, 1 bag of Kleenex, 1 package of nuts, 2 prayers, a list of relaxing music and a note from the chief RN . I usually make 6 bags on Monday and 6 on Wednesday and 3 on Friday to cover the weekend. All of the Chaplains usually eat lunch together in the office around noon. After lunch I do a variety of different things. Some days I go to the Peds unit and visit the little ones and their families. I also visit the mother Baby unit. This unit is the Mom’s and their newborns. This floor is the most intimidating for me. I don’t know what it is about visiting the new mothers that intimidates me. Around 2 I take over for Mrs. Pat while she takes her lunch break. I love answering the phones. I also sometimes get to do rounds with Mike. He is in the cardiac ward. I usually just go with him and watch the way that he interacts with the patients and their families.

On Wednesday The Clinical Pastoral Education residents have class so it is a little crazy around the office. Thursdays the Extended residents have class in the evenings

There are some days when the on call chaplain is busy so I get to attend a page by myself. This has only happened twice. It made me feel like I was a true part of the Pastoral Care DPT.

This past week a someone on the 9th floor requested a chaplain to talk with her. Since this was my floor and she was a new patient I felt like this was an opportunity for me to take the first step I went thinking that this entire patient wanted was someone to pray with. I was wrong. This particular patient talked to me about how they were losing faith in God and them though God had abandoned them. They asked me if I ever doubted God or felt like I did not have enough faith. I was taken aback by the question. I sat for min or so. I wanted to say the right thing. The proper thing but I was not sure what that was. I said a quick prayer to God asking him to speak through me to her heart. I took a deep breath and began to talk to her. I said “I doubt God a lot. I figure I am in good company when I doubt though, there was Peter who denied Jesus 3 times that we know of and then there is Doubting Thomas who is did not believe until he saw the holes in Jesus’ body. There was even Jesus himself who said “my God My God why have you forsaken me?” No I believe God knows that I am going to doubt him and he is okay with that”. I sat for a minute not knowing if what I said was appropriate or offensive. The patient smile and said: “I knew there was a reason God sent a young person to me… You young people have such an honest opinion.” I smiled and we both laughed.

I felt like I made a difference in this person’s life. ME! I made a difference in their life by letting them know that my faith is not always strong. This interaction made me feel on top of the world for the rest of the day. I felt like the call that I have felt placed on my life truly came into fruition.

I talked with my house on Friday about this interaction and Lauren my roommate made the comment that if I was ever doubting my call to just look back at the interaction I just described. I had 1) told the patient the truth about my faith 2) I involved scripture. I cried. I am beginning to feel like everything is falling into place.

Working at Ochsner in the Pastoral Care DPT is amazing. I am learning a lot about me as well as others. I came into this YAV year with more personal issues and problems than I knew. I am beginning to work through them and understand them.

 So that Is what my typical day looks like.
 If you have any questions feel free to  leave me questions or comments.