Stephen Kliewer. D.Min.
Assistant Professor
Rural Resource Center and Department of Family Medicine
Oregon Health and Science University

Phone: 541-426-4524
FAX 541-426-3035


Email: kliewers@...

Dear Steve,
For some reason, I could not send this to the STFM spirituality group.
Could you please forward it for me. Thanks.
- Gowri



In answer to your question, for the last 4 years we have been doing a
1/2
day workshop/retreat as part of our spirituality and medicine curriculum

entitled "Care of the body, mind and spirit: from self care to patient
care". It is specifically designed to give residents a chance to spend
some time focusing on their own spiritual needs in order to be better
prepared to take care of their patients. Since it is a required part of

the residency and residents are given a Fri pm that is free of other
obligations, so far we have had very good attendence (we also include
residents in the planning every year). We have a very diverse group of
residents here at Brown, so we try to focus on general spiritual
issues/themes rather on specific religious beliefs. We also build in
flexibility with choice of activities so they can choose activities
based
on their interests and comfort level. Each activity is chosen for it's
spiritual value as well as being "fun". Some are energizing, some
relaxing; some group oriented, some individual. We have a varied group
of
faculty including MDs, CPE chaplains, behavioral scientists etc.

A sample outline of the retreat is as follows:
a) Introduction - purpose of retreat. Overview.
b) Brief relaxation exercise: eg. breath meditation
c) Small group discussion: residents divided into groups based on year.
Topics vary by group level. 1st yr: "remembering who you are"- values,
hopes, beliefs, why you went into medicine. How to keep that alive
while
you are a resident. 2nd: "recapturing who you are". What makes you
complete and whole. What you need to do for yourself to maintain your
ideals, values, inner strength and love. 3rd year: "Attending to the
spiritual needs of others". Challenges. How to keep yorself centered
and
whole in order to better take care of patients.
d) Experiential Activities - 2 hrs: Choice of several parallel
activities
including: individual quiet time (room with inspirational books from all

the world's religions, arts and craft supplies with suggested projects,
journaling/ writing topics etc); yoga; ti chi; outdoor nature walk/bird
watching; African drumming and dance.
e) Wrap up with large group acivity to bring the group back together.

Hope this is helpful.
- Gowri Anandarajah, MD
gowri_anandarajah@...



Stephen Kliewer wrote:

> This comes from Mayank Shah. I think it is an interesting question.
> How do we promote spirituality (not just teach about it, or the
> integration of spirituality and healthcare).
>
> _____________________________________________________________
> I have a question to pose to the group. I
> am curious to know what teaching techniques people have used to
promote
> spirituality in residency programs? As you are all aware, one must be

> comfortable about spiritual concepts and understand one's own beliefs
> before
> trying to help someone else with theirs. I would appreciate any
> creative
> ideas. Thanks.
> _______________________________________________________________
>
> At OHSU we ask residents to do a spiritual "pathway" or use some sort

> of media to describe their spirituality journey. Where they are now,
> how they got there, landmarks or crossroads along the way....
>
> Some have done charts showing whether they have felt close (connected)

> to the sacred, or distant. They share why they felt that way at that
> moment.
>
> One share a collage of pictures taken of herself, family, etc.
>
> Another brought in a group of drawings from her Native American
> heritage/background to talk about her spirituality
>
> Others have done "maps", with various illustrations along a trail to
> show their "journey."
>
> It helps us get into spirituality, spiritual issues, how their history

> may influence the way they respond to others, etc.
>
> Steve
>
> Stephen Kliewer. D.Min.
> Assistant Professor
> Rural Resource Center and Department of Family Medicine
> Oregon Health and Science University
>
> Phone: 541-426-4524
> FAX 541-426-3035
>
> Email: kliewers@...