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Sarah Masters reviews the film

Peace Is Every Step: Meditation in Action
The Life and Work of Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace Is Every Step provides an intimate portrait of the life of Thich Nhat Hanh, internationally known Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. His main message, delivered in soft-spoken tones, concerns meditation in action, a theme that Chaplains live. “You get out of the meditation hall,” Thich Nhat Hanh says, “and that is called meditation in action. Deep looking is meditation, and deep acting is also meditation.”

Since his efforts to end the Vietnam War, which resulted in a forty-year exile from Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh has resided in Plum Village, France. Footage of his work in Vietnam and at his monastery in Plum Village, as well as at several retreats in the U.S., weaves a tapestry of his constant efforts at reconciliation. Thich Nhat Hanh served as Chair of the Vietnamese Peace Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks and some of the most interesting moments filmed involve his ongoing interactions with Vietnam Veterans. One of the most touching moments in the film is his visit to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC.

In Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh reminds viewers to lead a “mindful and meaningful life…The best way to take care of the future,” he says, “is to take care of the present moment.” As Chaplains know, “There are things we can do, we all can do.”

Completed: 1998
Running Time: 52 Minutes
Director/Producer: Gaetano Maida

If you are interested in purchasing this film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The cost of the film series is $24.95 for a DVD.

Book Review

Rev. George Handzo reviews

Providing Culturally and Linguistically Competent Health Care*

As any hospital chaplain knows well by now, the JCAHO has, of late, placed a heavy emphasis on cultural and linguistic competence. And with good reason. About one third of people living in the United States can be classified as racial or ethnic minorities. One third of the residents of New York City are foreign born, and that number is rising. Lack of cultural competence in health care costs money and leads to negative health outcomes - not to mention the distress caused to patients and families whose beliefs and customs are not respected or who literally can’t read the writing on the wall.

In many institutions, chaplains have rightfully been called upon to contribute to the teaching of cultural competence. While some of us have a lot of experience in this area, others of us do not.

Just recently, the publishing arm of JCAHO, Joint Commission Resources, has published a book on this subject that is a must for everyone in health care, including chaplains, who are involved in providing or teaching culturally competent care. The volume is clearly written, laid out in a user-friendly way, and practical. It contains five major chapters - Language, Health Literacy and Their Effects on the Safe Provision of Care, Overcoming Health Barriers through Cultural Competence, The Role of Community in Cultural Competence, Developing and Training Staff to Be Culturally Competent, and The Business Case for Cultural and Linguistic Competence. Additionally, there is a very helpful glossary.

While some chapters were more interesting to me than others, there was significant learning in each. The discussion of health literacy is very clear and its impact well spelled out. There are easy to use cultural assessment tools with verbatim accounts of assessment conversations. I found the discussion of the different possible foci of cultural competence training useful.

Many of you who are professional chaplains may now be expecting the seemingly inevitable line that goes something like, “Although this volume is useful for chaplains, it doesn’t discuss the role of pastoral care”. Not this time! Through the efforts of Sue Wintz, BCC, chair of the APC Commission on Quality in Pastoral Services, professional pastoral care and its role in cultural competence and competence training are described throughout this book. One example, “…board-certified chaplains are valuable resources in identifying and communicating patient/family beliefs…”.(p. 58). Also, “The professional chaplain on staff can assist the interdisciplinary team in understanding cultural, spiritual, and religious issues that emerge…”(p. 45).

Thus, this volume is not only good education for chaplains, it is, for once, a mainline resource that puts professional pastoral care squarely in the center of the institution's efforts in cultural competence. Even at $75, it is well worth the price.

Providing Culturally and Linguistically Competent Health Care, (Joint Commission Resources, 2006) 138 pp.

*This resource will be available to purchase at the APC conference in Atlanta.

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