chaplaincy – End of Life University

Learn how hospice chaplains can offer support to people who choose medical aid in dying.

My guest Dr. Terri Daniel is an inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, end-of-life educator, and grief counselor, who is the author of four books on death, grief and the afterlife, and a frequent guest on the podcast. Today Terri and I talk about medical aid in dying from a chaplain’s perspective and she discusses her experiences working for a hospice in Oregon that provides support for MAID. Learn more about Terri’s work at her website:

danieldirect.net

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

The history of medical aid in dying in Oregon
How EOLCOR (End-of-Life Choices Oregon) assists people who want to utilize medical aid in dying
The wide variations in hospice policies around medical aid in dying
Dilemmas around communicating with family members who don’t support MAID
How MAID differs from suicide and why we need to understand that difference
A beautiful end-of-life ritual Terri created for a person utilizing MAID
Why some chaplains feel conflicted about supporting medical aid in dying
Religious objections to MAID
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about MAID in some hospices
Dementia directive for advance care planning

Links mentioned in this episode:

Death and Grief Worker Collective on Instagram
Casting Call for new docuseries on grief; email GriefShowCasting@gmail.com if you are interested in participating
Register for Workshop with Francesca Lynn Arnoldy on January 30th
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Previous interview with Terri Daniel
Dementia Advance Directive Tool from Compassion and Choices
Get my two new books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest donor Kathleen Behrens. Also thank you to Tom Waknitz and Carew Papritz for joining the $10 for 10 Years Campaign! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn how a former Buddhist nun brought her gentle, compassionate approach to hospice chaplaincy.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Laughter Yoga Webinar mentioned in this episode has been rescheduled for March 10th due to severe weather-related power outages experienced by the presenter. You can still register using the link below.

My guest Tenzin Kiyosaki has been a certified interfaith hospice chaplain for the past 13 years. She also practiced as a Buddhist nun for 27 years after being ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and brings an Eastern perspective to her hospice work. She is the author of the book The Three Regrets: Inspirational Stories of Love and Forgiveness at Life’s End and shares the spiritual wisdom she gathered from her work with dying patients.

Get the book here.

Listen here:

This episode includes:

How Tenzin was inspired to become a hospice chaplain
What Tenzin learned from her Buddhist studies about the end of life
What hospice work is always an ongoing learning experience
How Western culture avoids the subject of death while Eastern cultures embrace it
The failure of Western medicine to accept impermanence
What led Tenzin to return her vows and become a lay person once again
The role of a chaplain in hospice to find the “heart” of each patient
Do chaplains and hospice need different titles to overcome bias in our society?
How to help patients who regret a lack of accomplishment in life
Helping patients who have not shared enough love during their lives
Why regret at the end of life is actually a good sign
A Buddhist perspective on medical aid in dying

Links included in this episode:

Register here for Laughter Yoga Webinar (and get the replay if you can’t attend live)
Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference!