Thursday, October 13, 2011

Hearing From Another Chaplain: After the Crash

I've been quiet for a while. I took two and a half weeks of vacation, and between prep time before leaving, and recovery time after returning (a recovery that is still a work in progress!), I haven't had much blog-able in my head, much less time and energy to get it typed and posted.

But I am beginning to catch up, and today took a few minutes to look at some sites I hadn't visited in a while. In the process, I returned to Susan Palwick's blog, Rickety Contrivances of Doing Good. In addition to being an academic and the author of works of science fiction, Susan is an Episcopal lay minister and serves as a volunteer chaplain in her local Emergency Room. (Which is why there's always a link to her blog on my blog.)  That ER is in Reno, Nevada, recently notable for the disaster at the air races. Susan responded to that mass casualty, and posted her reflection on her blog. I would encourage you to go and read it. I know it's been a while now since the event, but her thoughts are absolutely pertinent.

In health care institutions, and especially in hospitals, we drill regularly to prepare for such events. Such a drill is part of what has complicated this first week back. We drill to have our people and our processes prepared; but, blessedly, such events are actually rare. Whenever a colleague has such an experience and shares about it, it's worth our time to read and reflect. So, go over and take a look a what Susan experienced that morning and learned from her experience. It may well be valuable for you, too.

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