There is no denying that the days are getting shorter. Leaving work only a month ago might still afford time for a walk (or a run for those inclined) in the sun before heading home for the evening. In a couple of weeks, we will “fall back” to Standard Time and there will be no denying, cooler days are ahead.
I am not sure whether our Vicar had the falling leaves and hibernation in mind when he approached me about a Forum series on palliative care. But maybe it was genius because I always firmly have believed that as we approach the end of our lives, we are awakening to new possibilities – possibilities for mending fences, for being present and for pastoral imagination. This fall at St. Bart’s, our theme is “For the Healing of the Nations” and in October’s Forum series, we are looking at what healing looks like on a more granular scale. We will be having a series of conversations titled, “What Healing Looks Like: Conversations on Suffering, Death and Medical Care.” As the palliative care chaplain at Memorial Sloan Kettering, I have had the good fortune of working with some of the most accomplished clinicians, ethicists and scholars working in the field of end-of-life care. It is a privilege to be able to invite three such people to come talk about their expertise at St. Barts.
On October 13th, I will be having a conversation with Liz Blackler, an ethicist at Memorial Sloan Kettering and the co-chair of the biomedical ethics program at the hospital. Her clinical interests involve working with staff to enhance end-of-life decision-making and navigating conflicts and ethical concerns that can arise around the end-of-life, including the use of life-sustaining therapies. Liz will share a bit about the birth of medical ethics, how hospital ethics have changed in the 21st Century and what challenges lie ahead for both doctors and patients.
On October 20th, you will meet Dr. Robert Klitzman who is a professor of psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He has written over 180 scientific journal articles and ten books on critical issues in bioethics regarding doctor-patient relationships and communication, research, genetics, mental health, pandemics and other areas. His most recent book is entitled, Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? Medicine, Chaplains and Healing the Whole Person. Klitzman has received numerous awards for his work, including fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Aaron Diamond Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times, CNN and Psychology Today. I look forward to discussing his recent research and his foray into the intersection of ethics and chaplaincy.
Finally on October 27th, we will have the opportunity to meet Rabbi Mychal Springer. Rabbi Springer is the manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at NY-Presbyterian Hospital. She founded the Center for Pastoral Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in Manhattan in 2009 and over a ten-year period, she oversaw an intensive hospice chaplaincy training program in collaboration with Metropolitan Jewish Health System’s Hospice. Her publications include Sisters in Mourning: Daughters Reflecting on Care, Loss, and Meaning with Dr. Su Yon Pak and Presence in a Time of Distancing: Spiritual Care in an Acute Care Setting. Mychal was my first clinical supervisor over 13 years ago. I am thrilled to be able to introduce her to the St. Bart’s community and to have you hear about how chaplains are educated to take care of patients from all parts of the globe.
Please join me as we learn more about what is possible when we are faced with the most difficult challenges imaginable. Bring your curiosity and questions and help us welcome these three extraordinary people to the Forum at St. Bart’s. Maybe we will get a closer look at what healing looks like.
