Where to start

New physicians are the most malleable physicians on your medical staff. The work you do for them will be the most efficient work that you do as a physician champion. New physicians are an investment in the future culture of the hospital. In other words, the changes you make in your physician orientation program will bear most of its fruit in a few years.

New Place

The programs you create for spiritual formation rely partly on place. Elements of the Seton Cove Spirituality Center remind us of the magnificence of creation, the warmth of companionship, the availability of a safe haven, the presence of a greater power, and the value of our work. When you plan your programs keep the importance of place in mind. The physicians on your staff often come from the operating room, a patient’s bedside, the family consultation room crushed under a tower of problems and complaints. They have worked long hours. Sometimes their lives are severely out of balance, and they are simply ground into rubble. Sometimes you must help them find them a new place.

Filter the activities of a retreat center

Dear Readers, Please accept my apologies for a considerable gap in the posts on this blog. My wife, Suzy, and I decided that we needed to invest time in a Spanish Language immersion to facilitate our mission activites in Central America. The process was consuming and the blog postings lapsed. Continuing the thoughts from the last posting in September: Your retreat center will become popular. People will want to schedule receptions, bar mitzvahs, church retreats and weddings. Hospital managers will ask to hold planning sessions. You must hold the line. All of these activities will dilute the sacred quality of the place you build. The rule at Seton Cove is that at least 50% of the program must be of a spiritual nature. Our vice president of Mission Services, the Director of Seton Cove, the Site Manager and the Program Facilitator form the Seton Cove council and approve all programming. Build a filter like this into the charter of your retreat center.