In hospitals, death and dying are part of the daily routine. Nurses and doctors need to learn to cope with the death of a patient. But with all the hustle and bustle in hospitals, and the next patient already waiting, where’s the time to cope, the time to stand still for a moment to reflect on life and death? At the University of Virginia Medical Center, in Charlottesville, Virginia, a nurse working in emergency care found a way. He calls it ‘the pause’. He experienced the importance of it two years ago, after he and his team tried and failed to resuscitate a patient. A chaplain came in, stopped the whole team from leaving the room and lead them into a prayer for the patient. The nurse, Jonathan Bartels, thought it was an important moment, and inspired others to do it more often. ‘The pause’ doesn’t have to be a prayer, it can also be a silent reflection. Now, all workers at the Virginia Medical Center learn to take a moment together after every patient’s death to silently reflect. And the concept is starting to spread beyond the University of Virginia.
This article was originally published on September 28, 2015
