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Blog

Spiritual Care Services co-sponsors Robert Thurman conversation on March 12th at UCSF!

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Peter Clark in News

The Department of Spiritual Care Services is proud to be a co-sponsor of an upcoming event entitled “Wisdom and Compassion in Health Care: Buddhist Perspectives,” in which renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar Robert A. F. Thurman will join with Isa Gucciardi and David Bullard in a conversation where they will explore the path of service for health providers, informed by Buddhist understandings of life, death, mindfulness, and consciousness.  The event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, 2019, from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in Cole Hall at UCSF’s Parnassus Heights campus, located on the lobby level at 513 Parnassus Avenue in San Francisco.  Registration is required of all attendees and the net proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Tibet House U.S.  For more information, please see the attached flyer ThurmanSpeechFlyer-Mar2019v4 and to register, please go to https://thurmanucsf2019.bpt.me

 

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UCSF Hosts Continuing Education Event for Spiritual Caregivers and Allies on July 16, 2018

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Peter Clark in News

UCSF Spiritual Care Services is pleased to host a continuing education event for chaplains, current CPE students and CPE alumni/ae, spiritual caregivers and religious leaders, interested laypersons, and allies—including interdisciplinary colleagues in the healthcare setting. It is scheduled for Monday, July 16th, at UCSF’s Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco. There are three PDF’s attached to this post: a flyer about the day, an informational brochure with more details, and a registration form.

July2018ConferenceFlyer

July2018ConferenceInfoBrochure

July2018ConferenceRegistrationForm

Please help us spread the word to anyone who might be interested. Inquiries can be directed to <spiritualcareservices@ucsf.edu>.

We hope to see all of you (or as many as can come) at this event!

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Spiritual Care Services Launching No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program at UCSF

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Peter Clark in News

After over a year of preparations, volunteer recruitment and training, and logistical work, and thanks to a generous grant from UCSF Partners in Care, Spiritual Care Services is pleased to announce the beginning of a No One Dies Alone (NODA) program to serve imminently dying adult inpatients at Parnassus who are unbefriended or unaccompanied. NODA makes it possible for a volunteer to offer companionship to an adult who is dying on one of our inpatient units and who has not had family members or friends visiting, or to a patient whose family/friends are keeping vigil and might need a respite break.

NODA is not a religiously oriented service and it is not a replacement for a chaplain or anyone else serving a professional function on the caregiving team. Our volunteers are explicitly instructed that their aim is to support the patient with their presence, and chaplains will be available to consult about any religious, spiritual, or other non-medical requests a patient might make during a NODA visit.

This program launched on the morning of Wednesday, February 1st. The Parnassus on-call chaplain or the chaplain serving a clinical unit will serve as the referral point for a NODA request.  Once a patient has been identified as someone who would benefit from a NODA visit, a trained volunteer would be contacted. Because we are reliant on volunteers, we cannot guarantee that we always will have a companion available, or that we’ll be able to provide continuous coverage. However, our aim is to fulfill all NODA requests with at least some companionship during those patients’ last hours and days.

Here are two photos of some eager, enthusiastic NODA volunteers at recent training sessions.  Spiritual Care Services staff members Peter Yuichi Clark (in back at left) and Kate Perdigon and Flora Avecilla (front row, center) facilitated this training in late January.
And in this photo taken in early February, Peter is in the front row near the center.  Kate also attended but is not in the photo.  Thanks to Lauren Franklin in Volunteer Services for being our photographer on both occasions!
If you would like to participate as a volunteer in this program, please contact 415-353-1941 or e-mail us.  A PDF announcement about the program is here: NODAAnnouncement-Dec2016.
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Midday Mindfulness at Parnassus

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Peter Clark in News

Beginning on Monday, January 23rd, Spiritual Care Services is pleased to offer a time of Midday Mindfulness at the Parnassus campus.  Similar to what we already offer on weekdays at the Mission Bay campus, these sessions will be available on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 12 noon to 12:15 p.m. in the Meditation Room (Moffitt/Long Hospital room M193, next to the Information Desk).  No prior experience with meditation is necessary, and everyone is welcome.  Please feel free to contact us at 415-353-1941 or download the PDF for more information.  Come join us for a recharging break!

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A Statement of Solidarity from Spiritual Care Services

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Peter Clark in News

The chaplains of Spiritual Care Services recognize and affirm the many people in the UCSF community who are devoting themselves tirelessly to the cause of justice. In a variety of ways UCSF students, faculty, and staff are striving against the racism and other types of discrimination that undergird and shape institutions in the United States, including our own campus and the medical center. Our team of chaplains recognizes the emotional and spiritual distress that people in our community, and particularly people of color and other marginalized persons, are feeling during this time in our national life. Aware of the significant, persistent, well-documented health disparities with respect to race, socio-economic status, culture, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and gender identity that exist in our country, we want you to know that we are here for you: to listen when you have need, to support you in this effort, and to advocate with you toward the goal of creating a more just and better world. You are in our minds and hearts now and always as we all seek to advance this vision.

Circle of hands

Please feel free to e-mail with any questions or concerns. If you require immediate assistance with your spiritual and emotional needs, an on-call chaplain is available 24/7 at Parnassus (pager 415-443-2273) and Mission Bay (Voalté phone 415-476-9720).

Additional resources and support can be found at UCSF’s Office of Diversity and Outreach.

A PDF copy of this statement can be downloaded here.

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UCSF Spiritual Care Services Awarded Research Literacy Curriculum Grant

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Peter Clark in News

The Department of Spiritual Care Services is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant of $4,000 over two years as part of the Transforming Chaplaincy Project, which is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation in collaboration with Rush University and Brandeis University. The grant is intended to assist us in developing and implementing curricula for our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) year-long interns to help them increase their research literacy. With consultation from Dr. Laura Dunn (who is now at the Stanford University School of Medicine, but who led the Spiritual AIM research project with the Rev. Dr. Michele Shields and remains a friend to our CPE program), we were able to submit a proposal that was very favorably received. The grant will begin in the 2016 – 2017 internship year. More information about the grant program is available at: Transforming Chaplaincy

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Spiritual Care Services Speaks Up on Sustainability

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Peter Clark in News

The UCSF Office of Sustainability and Spiritual Care Services are teaming up to encourage people of all faiths to act in ways that are environmentally responsible, and act as good stewards of the Earth and the life that exists on it.  For an article about our department and how faith and ecological awareness interweave, please check out this link.

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Chaplains Publish Articles on Cancer Care and Asian American Religions

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Peter Clark in News

We are pleased to announce that the Rev. Susan Conrad, manager of spiritual care services, recently co-authored an article entitled “Spiritual Care for Cancer Survivors” with Dr. Jamie Alexis Cohen, and it was published in Coping with Cancer magazine in July/August 2015.  You can read the article by going to this link:

Spiritual Care for Cancer Survivors

Also in the fall, ABC-CLIO released a 2-volume encyclopedia entitled Asian American Religious Cultures, edited by Jonathan H. X. Lee, Fumitaka Matsuoka, Edmond Yee, and Ronald Y. Nakasone.  The Rev. Peter Yuichi Clark, UCSF’s director of spiritual care services, contributed a major essay on “Care and Service” to that project.  You can learn more about this resource by going to this link:

Asian American Religious Cultures

In keeping with our mission, we continue to pursue “caring, healing, teaching, and discovering.”

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More Articles Published from UCSF Spiritual Care Research

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Peter Clark in News

In a prior blog post, we discussed UCSF’s research project on the Spiritual Assessment and Intervention Model (AIM) and its application to outpatient palliative care settings for patients with advanced cancer, which was funded by a grant from the HealthCare Chaplaincy Network and the John Templeton Foundation.

We are very pleased to announce that this project has resulted in two recently published articles by members of the research team.  Here are links to all three of the articles that have been published thus far:

Spiritual AIM and the work of the chaplain: A model for assessing spiritual needs and outcomes in relationship

by Michele Shields, Allison Kestenbaum, and Laura Dunn

Transcending differences to study the transcendent: an exploratory study of researchers’ and chaplains’ reflections on interdisciplinary spiritual care research collaboration

by Richard A. Powell et al. (Laura Dunn and Allison Kestenbaum are among the co-authors)

“Taking your place at the table”: an autoethnographic study of chaplains’ participation on an interdisciplinary research team

by Allison Kestenbaum, Jennifer James, Stefana Morgan, Michele Shields, Will Hocker, Michael Rabow, and Laura Dunn

Enjoy your reading!

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Spiritual Care Services Sponsors Conversation with Thupten Jinpa

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Peter Clark in News

On Monday, May 18th, 2015, at 12 noon in Room N-217 of the UCSF School of Nursing at the Parnassus Heights campus, the Department of Spiritual Care Services will host Thupten Jinpa, Ph.D., the long-time English translator of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, in conversation with David Bullard, Ph.D., clinical professor of medical psychology (psychiatry) at the UCSF School of Medicine and a member of our department’s Professional Advisory Group. The two will discuss Thupten Jinpa’s latest book, A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives, which is based on experiments he helped formulate in the Compassion Cultivation Training program he co-created at Stanford University. He will discuss how the benefits of developing greater compassion may be even more life-changing than the practice of mindfulness. The event is free and open to the public; all are welcome! Contact our department’s main office at 415-353-1941 for more information.

 

GesheThuptenJinpa

 

FearlessHeartBookCover

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About Us

Spiritual Care Services provides emotional and spiritual support for patients, their families and staff. Learn More

News and Blog Posts

  • Spiritual Care Services co-sponsors Robert Thurman conversation on March 12th at UCSF!
  • UCSF Hosts Continuing Education Event for Spiritual Caregivers and Allies on July 16, 2018
  • Spiritual Care Services Launching No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program at UCSF
  • Midday Mindfulness at Parnassus
  • A Statement of Solidarity from Spiritual Care Services
  • UCSF Spiritual Care Services Awarded Research Literacy Curriculum Grant
  • Spiritual Care Services Speaks Up on Sustainability
  • Chaplains Publish Articles on Cancer Care and Asian American Religions
  • More Articles Published from UCSF Spiritual Care Research
  • Spiritual Care Services Sponsors Conversation with Thupten Jinpa

Seven Steps to Self-Care

Tip #5: Lighten up. Let your sense of humor travel with you. Laughing increases blood flow and relaxes blood vessels. It reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that increases our belly fat and makes our kidneys retain salt and water, boosting our blood pressure.

Upcoming Events and Holidays

Feb
25
Mon
all-day Ayyám-i-Há – Bahá’í [through Mar...
Ayyám-i-Há – Bahá’í [through Mar...
Feb 25 – Mar 1 all-day
Starting at sundown, this festival marks the beginning of the intercalary days for festivities, gift giving, and charitable actions.
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1
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all-day Ayyám-i-Há ends – Bahá’í
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Ending of the intercalary days for festivities, gift giving, and charitable actions.
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all-day ‘Alá – Bahá’í
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The beginning of the nineteenth and final month, meaning “loftiness,” and also of a 19-day fast in preparation for Naw Rúz [see March 21]. Adult believers in good health abstain from food and drink from[...]
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14
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all-day Memorial of Shan-tao (Zendō) – B...
Memorial of Shan-tao (Zendō) – B...
Mar 14 – Mar 15 all-day
Anniversary of the death of a Chinese Pure Land Buddhist priest who died in 681 C.E.  He taught that enlightenment could occur simply through repetition of the name of Amitabha or Amida Buddha (nianfo or[...]
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16
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all-day Ghambar Hamaspathmaedem, Fravard...
Ghambar Hamaspathmaedem, Fravard...
Mar 16 – Mar 21 all-day
A celebration of the creation of human beings and a commemoration of souls who have died. Prayers are offered to the fravashis (the divine spark within each human, which lives forever), asking for their blessings[...]
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All opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of the University of California. The Clinical Pastoral Education program at UCSF Health is accredited for Level 1, Level 2, and Certified Educator CPE by ACPE (the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.), One West Court Square, Suite 325, Decatur, GA 30033-2538 USA; 404-320-1472; www.acpe.edu.

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