tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post1737763485019890047..comments2023-11-03T05:46:44.728-04:00Comments on RevGalBlogPals: Ask the Matriarch - Have You Got the Time EditionStephanie Anthony/She Revhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10089531643725874239noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-39757220703864176142009-11-29T17:26:06.659-05:002009-11-29T17:26:06.659-05:00Sounds like it depends on the CPE. Mine summer be...Sounds like it depends on the CPE. Mine summer before last involved being on call every 6 days, which usually meant all night (so we were in the hospital from 8am one day through noon the next) but occasionally all day Saturday or Sunday instead. In any case, another weekly committment would have been out of the question. It usually took a full day (back at work after a half day off) to recover from the overnights. My hat is off to anyone who survived more.<br /><br />I loved CPE and am seriously considering a residency next year; I'd encourage you to give it your all and not let yourself be distracted by unrelated work.Gannet Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16374279595560691174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-62224342364166725912009-11-26T20:07:52.228-05:002009-11-26T20:07:52.228-05:00I am with Sue, don't work what you are not pai...I am with Sue, don't work what you are not paid to do.<br />It does sit up a pattern and it is hard to break1-4 Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05688216101068437927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-18021048143141969932009-11-26T17:02:12.565-05:002009-11-26T17:02:12.565-05:00I can only share my experience. You will pray and ...I can only share my experience. You will pray and discern what will work for you.<br />My CPE was to have been a 12 month extended unit; however the supervisor resigned his position 3 months into the unit. I am mother of two, was still taking 'regular' seminary course load and working 10 hours week. When the new supervisor asked us to re-commit to finishing CPE in 6 months (half the original expectation), I was frantic. (This new agreement would increase weekly hours from 7 to 17!!!) <br />After much prayer and discussion with my spouse, I re-committed and was then told to quit my job. I did quit my job and my remaining CPE ended up to be an amazingly good experience.<br />Blessings on your CPE!LMMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14711232737873413867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-21627854407349982482009-11-26T15:01:57.828-05:002009-11-26T15:01:57.828-05:00I'm with Althea....in part. I did a 12 week i...I'm with Althea....in part. I did a 12 week intensive, and then a year long residency, both hospital settings. I found preaching (supply preaching, cuz I was NOT making money at the hospital) life giving- the chance to see that there is life outside the hospital and death, the chance to look and ponder on the Word without having to do it for a funeral for a patient, the chance to be remindede that pastoring is not exclusively chaplaincy.......that said, I was married and had a wonderful husband who cooked me breakfast wehn I got home after oncalls and listened to me when I cried about all the death.....I would wonder about your oncall schedule, and how much sleep you need/can be functional on. Supply preaching worked because I could pick my weekends to preach...and when just to go home and crash.....I dont know if I could do a regular gig, but I do know people who can and have....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-88931388644445622142009-11-26T14:54:00.311-05:002009-11-26T14:54:00.311-05:00I did CPE summer before last. I had no other duti...I did CPE summer before last. I had no other duties for class or ministry except I did pulpit supply 5 of the 10 weeks -- 4 weeks in a row, the others scattered. I didn't have any pastoral care requirements and my CPE did not have on-call hours outside our normal hours (we did rotate during the day who had to answer beeper, but in this area, if it was a late night emergency, it was 80%+ RC priest). <br /><br />For me, going home and doing sermon prep was enough of a change from the hospital that I welcomed it. I'm an introvert, so heads down desk time time was a relief after the intense interpersonal interactions.Althea N. Agapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14572855832279913561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-82772684448166878882009-11-26T10:19:22.636-05:002009-11-26T10:19:22.636-05:00It sounds so do-able, and tempting...but I did one...It sounds so do-able, and tempting...but I did one of those 12-week units in a hospital, without any other responsibilities, and I still felt like a zombie at the end of it.Crimson Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13020190454645032359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14710344.post-21503505229345500422009-11-26T09:38:10.060-05:002009-11-26T09:38:10.060-05:00I served a church part time (10 hours a week) whil...I served a church part time (10 hours a week) while also doing CPE. At the church I was the youth director and worship leader, with occasional preaching and pastoral care. (I was also preparing to move out of the country AND my mom had stage 4 breast cancer during this time...so take my feelings with that context in mind!) <br /><br />All 8 months (two units) was a nightmare. Being on call and also being in worship was extremely difficult. I was so tired and weary and emotionally exhausted that pastoral care was almost impossible. Being with families whose children had just died made being a youth director a few hours later extremely difficult. There was little sleeping, little reading, little self-care. I ate hospital food, I talked with hospital people, I wrote verbatims...there was no time or energy left for anything else. I only had to preach twice while that was going on, and I don't have any idea how I pulled that off.<br /><br />All that to say: however you decide to do it, DEFINITELY let 4 hours be 4 hours, have really good boundaries, and set up your self-care regimen (including EXERCISE!!!) now--you won't be able to set that up while you're in the midst of it all, and this way when you slip a little, you'll still have something as opposed to the nothing I went in with. Also, now's a good time for a therapist. They can be invaluable during that CPE experience, as you'll have a confidential place to share with someone more experienced than your peers.<br /><br />My two-and-a-half cents.Terihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10838436991138846332noreply@blogger.com