General Information:
The NACC hosted several special webinars in 2018, outside of the scope of its regular series. Access to the recordings may still be purchased – please see below for details.
Presented by Gordon Hilsman, DMin, BCC-SNACC member Gordon Hilsman, DMin, BCC-S, has recently published Spiritual Care in Common Terms: How Chaplains Can Effectively Describe the Spiritual Needs of Patients in Medical Records; the book is available at this LINK.
It has received excellent reviews from many clinicians, including Dr. Christina Puchalski who wrote:
Spirituality of patients is an essential domain of whole-person care. Patients often suffer in silence; that suffering or spiritual distress must be recognized and treated. Professional chaplains are essential members of the healthcare team. It is critical that they communicate verbally and in the chart note the spiritual needs of the patient, how they are addressing that need and what outcomes the team should look for to help the patient heal. Spiritual Care in Common Terms offers the language and format for chaplains to communicate this clinical aspect of spiritual care that can be understood in the reductionist clinical framework but keeps the patient’s inner narrative in the forefront of their care for all members to provide compassionate care for our patients. This is a must-read for not only chaplains but for other members of the interdisciplinary team.
At the request of the NACC, in 2017 Gordon lead a book review series of four one-hour webinar sessions which gave members the opportunity to read and process the book with Gordon. (The participants purchased the book in advance.) Due to the wide popularity of this series, the NACC and Gordon have arranged to reprise his presentation in 2018. The four sessions will cover the content of the six chapters of the book. This series will provide the beginning, learning, and seasoned chaplain an opportunity to refine her/his theory and practice of documentation. Participant cost for these four sessions is $60, which includes all four sessions (but does not include the book – you are responsible for obtaining a copy yourself).
This series provides 10 CEH’s.
To register online to access recordings of these sessions, please use the following link: REGISTER. If you prefer to pay by check, please send your $60 check made out to NACC to: National Association of Catholic Chaplains, 4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501, Milwaukee, WI 53207.
It received excellent comments from many reviewers, including a book review by home care and hospice chaplain Lois Williams, in the May 2018 issue of the journal, Reflective Practice:
In To Dwell in Your House, Susan invites us to sit next to her and contemplate what a particular person and/or situation needs in order to promote the resilience needed to heal or the spiritual wholeness it takes to have a good death. Through vignettes, she introduces patients struggling to heal their bodies and souls after a physical challenge. Just when the reader feels they have grasped the issue being presented, be it struggling with loneliness, fear of change, loss of dignity, an unsafe environment, or any of the many spiritual issues that come up during the journey of life, Freeman turns the issues around by asking the reader about their own quest and struggle with these issues. Each vignette can serve as a daily devotional; they are followed by quotes from sacred writings that lead to a poetic reflection that can only be described as a “new psalm” . . . Freeman’s reflections are religiously inclusive; they are drawn from various spiritual traditions while emphasizing a compassionate narrative counseling approach that begins with listening. What do chaplains do? This is it.
Susan Freeman is a chaplain and teacher of clinical pastoral education (ACPE Certified Educator) at a hospital home health agency serving San Diego County. Prior to her current position, she served as a hospice chaplain for many years. Rabbi Freeman is the author of Teaching Hot Topics (2003) and Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Art Activities (1999) and has published articles in professional journals.
At the request of the NACC, Rabbi Susan agreed to lead a book review series of three one-hour webinar sessions which gave members the opportunity to read and process the book with her. (The participants needed to purchase the book in advance.)
This series provides the beginning, learning, and seasoned chaplain with insights into the resources and struggles of patients who confront challenging health crises at home. Access to the recordings of these three sessions is $60, which includes all sessions (but does not include the book – you are responsible for obtaining a copy yourself).
This series provides 7 CEHs (1 CEH per session plus 4 CEH for reading the book).
To register online to access recordings of these sessions, please use the following link: REGISTER. If you prefer to pay by check, please send your $60 check made out to NACC to: National Association of Catholic Chaplains, 4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501, Milwaukee, WI 53207.
Presented by Sr. Nuala P. Kenny O.C., M.D., F.R.C.P.
The goals for this webinar are to provide lessons for disciples of Christ from the legalization of medically assisted death (MAD) in Canada and to propose challenges to the faith community in response. We will clarify the reasons persons request MAD, which is the medicalization of human suffering and death. As such, it is in contradiction to the tradition of a good death and of the Paschal Mystery itself. Catholics need to be clear about the reasons for requesting assisted death, our cultural and medical context and inherent threats to protection of conscience and to the most vulnerable among us. This is an urgent issue because the more common MAD becomes, the more likely even Catholics will accept it as the ‘new normal.’
Reflecting together on Jesus’ story and stories of patient, family and caregiver experience, we will identify specific clinical, ethical and pastoral challenges that arise in health decisions and care for the seriously ill and dying. Finally, we will address some challenges to disciples of Christ and the need for a robust parish ministry of care and companionship.
Program Objectives
– To identify lessons from the Canadian experience of challenges to a good death presented by medically assisted death (MAD)
– To recognize MAD as the medicalization of suffering and rejection of the Paschal Mystery
– To clarify some Church teaching on decision-making in health care
– To reflect on key issues including pain control, nutrition and hydration at end of life
– To review trajectories of dying, difficult death and responding to requests for MAD
– To propose a challenge to disciples of Christ to be agents of mercy and compassion in the ministry of care and companionship in our families and communities
Sr. Nuala P. Kenny O.C., M.D., F.R.C.P. is a Sister of Charity as well as a pediatrician, medical educator and physician ethicist. She received her M.D. from Dalhousie University and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She held a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Fellowship at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Among her many accolades, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contributions to child health and medical education, has received a Queen’s Jubilee Medal and seven honorary degrees. She is author of hundreds of papers and three books: among them, What Good is Health Care? Reflections on the Canadian Experience (2002), Healing the Church (2012), and Rediscovering the Art of Dying (2018). She is presently Professor Emeritus at Dalhousie University. She serves as Advisor to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for the Protection of Minors and Chair of the Archdiocese of Halifax Yarmouth Ministry of Care and Companionship Committee.
This webinar provides 2 CEHs.
To register online to access recordings of these sessions, please use the following link: REGISTER. If you prefer to pay by check, please send your $30 check made out to NACC to: National Association of Catholic Chaplains, 4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501, Milwaukee, WI 53207.
