When facing death, people need more than physical care but also emotional as well as spiritual care.  Part of that care entails helping the person transition from this life to the next.  Pastoral Thanatology is the science of helping people face death.

The article, “Why help is needed when facing death” by John Dolan looks to answer the question of why individuals need help when facing death.  The article states,

“In my nearly 30 years as a priest, I have had the privilege of visiting the homebound, and those in convalescent homes, hospice and/or in palliative care. I have witnessed many families gathered together, accompanying their parents or grandparents as they died peacefully.”

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Please also review our Pastoral Thanatology Program and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.

Hospice is good for anyone who is terminally dying but the cost can sometimes be an obstacle.  In learning who pays for hospice and who is eligible is important.  Many never utilize this service for fear of price yet the service is so critical to living one’s life till the end instead of dying in a foreign and sterile place.

The article, “The Costs of Entering Hospice Care” by Maryalene LaPonsie states,

“IN 2016, MORE THAN 1 million Medicare beneficiaries died while receiving hospice care, according to data compiled by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Few people know that hospice is not just for the patient, but for the family,” says Edo Banach, president and CEO of NHPCO, a nonprofit representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals.”

To read the entire article, please click here

The benefits of hospice are great and to be deterred because of price is something that is unfortunate.  It is many ways should be a right to die with care and compassion at the hands of trained hospice caregivers.  Please also review our Pastoral Thanatology Program and see if it meets your educational needs.

Great article about a doctor and his sister.  Learning from grief that was her own, he was able to utilize that emotion as empathy for others.  Pastoral Thanatology, Grief Counseling and other care giving modalities are all founded on empathy and the ability to utilize it.  Please also review also review our program and see if it matches your professional needs.

The article, “Grief as My Guide: How My Sister Made Me a Better Doctor” by Joseph Stern states. 

“As I left the room, Meghan thanked me and said this was the first doctor’s appointment she had had in a long time where she didn’t cry. I never used to cry when speaking with patients. I would gird myself, push forward, distract myself with new and pressing problems to fix; I focused on technical, rather than human, matters. Now, I told Meghan that I would cry for us both. My sister was present in that room, in the patient sitting before me and in the way I was newly able to comfort and reassure her.”

To read the entire article, please click here

This article shows that sometimes the best way to under empathy is to experience it literally yourself.  Doctors can be caring and involved.  They can learn better patient skills through various Pastoral Thanatology Programs, as well as Grief Counseling Programs.  Please review AIHCP’s programs in both Grief Counseling and Pastoral Thanatology