A Hospital Chaplain’s Guide to Better Listening

I’m often asked what it is that healthcare chaplains actually do. Sometimes the assumption, even among other hospital disciplines, is that we pray with people, talk about God and occasionally do rituals. Explicitly religious stuff. Most chaplains are trained to handle those tasks, of course, but that’s not the core of what we do. Spirituality is about more than religion, and most of the time, good spiritual care is about providing compassionate presence and active, attentive listening. This is much harder than it sounds. In our culture, conversation tends to be transactional. We’re seeking to convey something or to get needed information. So, we talk over one another. We argue. We ignore seemingly irrelevant details. We change the subject. Often, we’re just waiting for our turn to speak, using the time when our conversation partner is talking to formulate what we want to say next. Breaking these habits takes intentional effort. It also takes practice. I’ve been a chaplain for nearly twenty years and have been fortunate to learn from a lot of great mentors and teachers during that time, particularly the many hospital patients who have allowed me to sit at bedside with them. Here are some things I’ve learned about good listening. <h1>Two Primary Ingredients: Attention and Empathy</h1> Attention is a precious commodity. At any given moment there are probably thousands of things trying to claim your awareness. To dedicate all your attention to one thing or one person is to deny attention to all the rest. That’s why few things communicate true caring more than undivided attention. <a href="https://betterhumans.pub/a-hospital-chaplains-guide-to-better-listening-1a4b0819525b">Visit Now</a>