Connecting Soul with the Role: San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine’s Remembrance Rituals Honor Patients, Promote Self-Care

by Kristina Berwyn-Shaw

For Kristen Carlson, Spiritual Counselor at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, walking alongside patients during their final journey is a privilege that she appreciates daily. “I often say that our patients are my teachers and every life represents an amazing journey that we are privileged to walk alongside for the final duration,” says Carlson.

But for Carlson, and many in the field of hospice and palliative care, working closely with individuals who are at the end of life, and processing the feelings and emotions that arise following a patient’s death, can be demanding. Often, they are challenged to reconcile and balance their heart, such as their feelings towards an experience with a patient, with their minds, such as continuing to be able to fulfill their role as a professional caregiver.

“Every member of our staff cares deeply about our patients and their families,” says Jonathan Flood, Patient Care Manager at San Diego Hospice. “San Diego Hospice care teams work tirelessly to ensure the patient, and their loved ones, are treated with respect, dignity, and warmth during their end-of-life experience. This can be a taxing undertaking. As such, it’s imperative for staff to be able to renew themselves in order to balance work and life, as well as replenish their capacity to care”...

Read the rest of the article in the February issue of Vision Magazine.