89 | Death and dying | Pastor Daniel Grothe | Non-anxious presence | Emotional whiplash | Habits to hit the reset button

Whatever your beliefs regarding God or lack of a God as you work in emergency medicine, I hope this episode will uplift and encourage you

Daniel talks about how the most anxious person in the room gets the most attention, but we should strive to be the non-anxious presence in the room. The non-anxious presence rebukes and resets the system

Daniel talks about how the people of God should strive to be like Jesus on the boat when he slept during the storm and say “Peace, be still” to the chaos

Remember how we treat people reflects who we are

Emotional whiplash occurs as a pastor or as an emergency medical professional

Daniel has gone from dedicating a newborn baby to helping a patient pass peacefully

Habits to hit the reset button:
 I like to walk to patient rooms rather than speed walking. This allows me to take a deep breath, practice mindfulness and reset myself to approach the encounter well

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

Try to smile 

Engage with the patients that fill your cup and appreciate your care, talk with that staff member that is kind and happy

Daniel talks about breath prayers: “Come Lord Jesus”, “help me Lord,” “Lord I need you here” “Come Holy Spirit”

Daniel talks about how we help with anxiety. When he sees people in his office at church or in the hospital, they are often anxious just like our patients

He says one way he combats anxiety is asking the person’s full name. What does your middle name mean? Is that a family name? He quickly digs into the details about a person’s life, and this can cause the anxiety to diminish. It shows interest in the person

The greatest sound to a person is the sound of their own name

Often the patients chief concern is not the same as their chief complaint 

In order to give to others, you have to have a full cup first, then what overflows is what you have available for others

How do we unburden ourselves of the things we take on at work?

Eric can compartmentalize

Laurie talks with her spouse to digest the things that happen during the day

Personally, sometimes I want to talk about my day and other times I don’t want to talk at all about my day

Daniel talks about how to avoid “taking home the hitchhikers.” We often see sad stories in our line of work and we can’t allow this to negatively impact our close relationships

Daniel jumps on his trampoline, screams into a pillow or goes to a steam room and gives the burdens over to the Lord. He also doesn’t shield his life from his family. He shares the difficult things

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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions.