Soul Catering: A Hospice and Palliative Care Retreat

As Hospice and Palliative Care clinicians, we work very hard to provide care and teaching to patients and family members at the most difficult time in life. After spending time and energy caring for these patients and families, the patient either dies or is transferred to another care setting. Bereavement counselors assist the family in dealing with the loss, but as the clinician, we just “move on” to the next very ill client. We do not receive bereavement services on the loss we feel after closing the case on a beloved patient. Many times, there is no need for the us to grieve because we realize it was our “job” to assist the patient and family in this death, and we typically do that job well. After many losses or after many years of witnessing loss, we realize that we, too, can be affected in many ways.

We all deal with this loss in different ways. Some in healthy ways and some not so healthy. SWF Chapter HPNA would like to present a Soul Catering Retreat to show you ways to “feed your soul.”  Through participation in the activities during the retreat, you will take away new tools to help deal with the stressors of practicing Hospice and Palliative Care.