Tara Care: Buddhist Hospice Training
Wendy Megerman, Ngakma Yeshe Zértsal, has developed a dynamic new program to train Buddhists and Buddhist Chaplains to work in hospice and end of life situations in hospitals, homes and other settings. She has established an affiliation with Community Hospice of Bergen County to provide our trainees with supervised experience in direct care of the dying. The program is delivered in a combination of weekend workshops, classroom time, mentoring and direct care. Graduates of the program will be able to serve at Community Hospice of Bergen County, as well as in other organizations.
“Zen and Buddhism accord death its rightful place as part of life and a companion in our daily practice and being.”
Roshi Paul Genki Kahn
Next Training
One Day – End of Life Caregiver – Workshop
at Zen Garland:
Saturday, February 5, 2011 from 10am to 5pm
Hospice Volunteer Training
at Community Hospice of Bergen County, 105 Fairview Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675:
Thursday evenings from 6:30 – 8:30pm
January 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17, 24, March 3, 10, 17
Components of the training include:
1. Buddhist views of life, death and dying
2. End of Life Care in our Culture: Includes a history of the Hospice Movement.
3. Personal Death Awareness: This session is devoted to understanding one’s personal feelings about mortality, the dynamics of loss, grieving and the perspective of a dying patient. Family, cultural and spiritual dimensions are also examined.
4. Zen Views of Life, Death and Dying
5. Families at the Time of Loss
6. Communication, Active Listening: This session focuses on the volunteer’s personal interaction with the patient and family. Active listening and effective verbal and non-verbal responses to questions are essential communication skills and are explored in depth.
7. What Death Looks Like/Palliative Care: Care and comfort for the patient and family is an important volunteer function. However, legeal and ethical limitations must be clearly understood. Lines between appropriate volunteer functions and technical and professional interventions must be defined. This session also broadens participants’ understanding of various diseases and their effect on patient and their families.
8. What Makes Caregiving Spiritual?
9, Meditation, Focusing and Personal Stress Management: Caring for the terminally ill necessitates attention to one’s own stress management. This session addresses techniques and strategies for reducing physical and emotional stress.
10. Bereavement: This session focuses on the grief of survivors. Because the family ist the hospice’s unit of care, hospice personnel attend to the grieving family with follow-up services.