As professional chaplains we need to be in dialogue with each other about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it a certain way and how these practices benefit our patients. The ultimate goal of MyPractice is to build a consensus about what constitutes “good practice” and eventually establish “Standards of Practice” for chaplains. As with quality improvements in our institutions, this is an ongoing process in order to improve our practice.

To have a description of a practice that you use in your setting considered for inclusion here, write it up and send it to PlainViews for consideration. The Association of Professional Chaplain's Quality Commission’s Best Practice Committee will work with the Managing Editor of PlainViews to review submissions and select articles for publication. Your submission does not necessarily need to be cutting edge (although that’s okay, too). We want to identify “good practices” that could be recognized as standard practice.

PlainViews will highlight one article in the second issue of each month. Readers are invited to respond to the featured practice. Responses will be posted as they are received. This is a great opportunity to start a process that will move us forward in professional chaplaincy.

If you’d like to respond to MyPractice, please send a comment of no more than 400 words. You can use the e-form below (click on "hearing from you," link) or submit your commentary to the editor in the body of an e-mail (or as a Microsoft Word attachment) sent to Info@PlainViews.org. Please put the phrase “MyPractice” in your subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Random Acts of Tea, Caring for the Caregiver (see response below)

At a pediatric chaplain’s conference, I learned of the “High Tea” that some chaplains and/or volunteers provide staff. This includes high quality tea, cookies, and china tea cups. It intrigued me and I wondered how it could be done successfully in my high stress, acute care, urban hospital. I began by getting the "buy-in" of the top administrators and managers so that I knew I would have their support.

Rather than offering the tea at scheduled times and places, I opted for bringing a tea cart directly to the nursing stations, knowing I’d have to be flexible and wait for staff in each area to find a few minutes to participate. Random servings in nine units were rotated, averaging four times per year per unit. The tea treat is a gift which brings a brief mental break and a sense of being appreciated. I also wanted to provide spiritual and emotional support and decided to do that by reading short, inspirational children’s stories, which could be interpreted on several levels, but would affirm each person’s value and work.

The effect of this practice was immediate. People were moved by the relaxing, nurturing and reflective power of this simple tea service and story. My relationships with them became deeper. They saw me as someone who genuinely cared about them. Trust increased, and they became more apt to call upon me for patient/family needs, as well as their own personal concerns.

As it became an integral part of the hospital, I was asked to bring the tea for special occasions and groups, including staff bereavement support, social workers, child life workers, volunteers, new staff orientation, committee work groups, management staff, and the hospital Board of Directors.

My hospital Director asked me to conduct a survey in anticipation of a poster presentation at the 2005 National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) conference (it got the “Great Idea Award). The survey included 10 questions, with 43 respondents. The most significant results were: all were glad they participated, even though they initially didn’t think they had time for it; and, all agreed that the service made the hospital a better place to work. One manager commented, “This gives us space, which we seldom get, to think about who we are and what we’re about.”

This Practice began in April of 2004 and went through November 2007, 3 ½ years. I retired in Dec. 2007, and my replacement will not begin until May 2008. My replacement is interested in the tea program, but is unsure if she will continue it.

Responses to MyPractice

At the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance we have been providing a monthly “Tea for the Soul” for staff in the hospital setting for five years. In the last year we have expanded this practice to two floors of our outpatient clinic.

The cart (inpatient setting) or table (outpatient setting) is set with a nice tablecloth, caraf of hot water, a variety of teas, tasty treats and sayings for the soul. The sayings often carry a theme and are new every month. Some staff just come for the tea and conversation, others pick through the sayings with delight and curiosity. Some even ask, “May I bring this saying to one of my patients?” Others remark, “I have 3 of these taped to my computer!”

Past soul-saying themes have included: Rumi, Hafiz, Love, Irish proverbs, African proverbs, Spring, Flowers, Nature and the Spirit, Mother Theresa, contemporary writers. At times we have even included an object for focus or experimentation, such as a picture or a hand labyrinth just to see how people interact with things beyond the written words.

The main goal of this activity is to offer a moment of respite and support to the staff. The conversations around the tea have given us a chance to get to know new staff, introduce and demystify the purpose and practice of spiritual care, provide group and one-on-one support, and offer a place for staff to support one another. By building relationships and getting to know more about the lives and concerns of the staff we have increased our departments visibility, engendered trust and generated more spiritual care referrals for patients and staff.

We have received strong support from nurse managers. At times, nurse managers have made a special request for Tea for the Soul when their staff has endured a particularly concentrated level of grief.

Rev. Mia Baumgartner, M.Div., MNPL
Staff Chaplain
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Seattle, Washington

Send your comments about MyPractice to info@PlainViews.org.