Stories of Chaplaincy

The Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Cincinnati Children’s brings you the following stories of chaplaincy from graduate residents and from mentor / mentee teams.

Graduate Residents 

• “Chaplain to Patients, Families and Staff” – Ron Davis
  Ron tells a poignant story of the challenge of serving a patient, his family and staff in a difficult end-of-life situation.
   
• “From Resistance to Appreciation” - Janet Carr
  Janet describes the action-reflection process which is the core of the Clinical Pastoral Education approach.  She shares how she initially placed emphasis on her clinical work but gradually came appreciate the value and importance of the reflection process.
   
• “Growing in Pastoral Authority” - Karen Geiger-Behm
  Karen shares a residency experience in the Emergency Department in which she was learning to grow into her pastoral identity.
   
•  “The Emotional Side of Caregiving” - Brendan O’Sullivan
  Brendan shares how he sought longer-term pastoral relationships as a part of his first-unit learning goals, only to discover there are both joys and sorrows inherent in the caregiving relationship.

Mentor / Mentee Teams 

• “The Shift from Student to Colleague” - Marc Zumhagen and Paul Beckman
  This mentor/mentee team reflects on the process of maturation from student to professional chaplain.
   
• “Shared Learning and Support” - Mary Ann Hegner and Gary Cooper
  Mary Ann reflects on how the mentoring relationship helped foster in her a positive understanding of consultation with peers.  Gary comments on mentors learning from mentees. 
   
• “Modeling the Ministry of Presence” - Marc Zumhagen and Paul Beckman
  Marc shares how his concept of the ministry of presence was shaped, in part, by how his mentor was present for him.