Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
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SPIRITUAL Nurses gather during a Sundown Program meeting at CTCA in Philadelphia. to support patients. "When the nurse is taking care of his or her own spiritual well-being, that nurse is more attuned to spiritual struggles and breakthroughs experienced by patients and their families," she says. With this awareness, Dr. Carson adds, nurses can be "excellent facilitators of open spiritual communication with the patient and the family and can help them work through issues such as forgiveness, love, gratitude and saying good-bye—all important spiritual issues that are more easily introduced by a nurse who has a strong spiritual foundation and is comfortable with initiating and participating in such discussions." Ensuring that nurses who provide care in this environment have the support they need to serve patients and families is the goal of the Sundown Program, a weekly spiritual support group for night-shift nurses at CTCA in Philadelphia. The group, led by Reverend Luis Centeno, offers nurses the opportunity to share their feelings about their work cfthrive.com and personal lives in a safe, confdential environment. Rev. Scanterbury says that participants are invited to open up about their lives and beneft from the support of the other participants and the spiritual facilitator. "They can discuss whatever is going on in their lives, whatever is on their minds," he says. As facilitator, Rev. Centeno helps guide the discussion, but the focus and the fow of each session is largely dictated by the needs of the group. Rev. Scanterbury says that the benefts of the Sundown Program are wide-ranging. "For the nurses it's a huge relief that someone recognizes the intensity of their workload and the toll it takes on them emotionally and spiritually, that someone recognizes that they do need support," he says. The confdential nature of the group allows them to speak freely and feel supported. "The program really does help with the whole process of stress relief," he adds. "They have a channel to relieve that stress and express grief." This opportunity to relieve stress and feel spiritually supported translates into a beneft for patients and other staff, says Rev. Scanterbury. "To the degree that an individual feels a reduction in their stress level, it allows them to interact more effectively with others— their coworkers as well as the patients they're caring for." The entire enterprise is buoyed by the program. "We've seen the level of bonding, camaraderie and morale experience a boost from the support the program provides." The commitment on the part of CTCA to support its nurses in this manner speaks to the critical role that nurses play in the organization. "Our nurses are the backbone of our organization," Rev. Scanterbury says, "and we need to continue to support them because the more they receive that kind of support, the more it will have a ripple effect into their own sense of well-being and their capacity to provide a high level of service and support to patients and caregivers." winter 2013 | cancer fighters thrive 37