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ICEOL Offers Summer Learning for Students
The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life is involved with four special learning opportunities this summer, engaging three Duke Divinity School students and one recent graduate of Yale Divinity School in research or study in areas ranging from ethical issues related to pain and suffering to the role of clergy in end-of-life care.
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| Landon Adams, among other work, completed two field education placements with the Federal Bureau of Prisons through the Institute this summer. |
Landon Adams, who is pursuing a master of divinity degree at Duke Divinity School, began his summer helping the Institute physically move into its new space in the divinity school's recently completed Westbrook Building.
He then assisted with the Institute's most recent offering of Crossing Over Jordan, a day-long symposium that focused on care at the end of life for African Americans, a particular area of interest for Adams.
As part of an independent study, Adams compiled and catalogued data related to training and educational resources on care at the end of life, specifically targeted toward clergy. This effort was of great benefit to the Institute, which is exploring plans to offer much needed training and curriculum development for clergy and seminarians related to death and dying.
Adams also completed two field education placements with the Federal Bureau of Prisions in Butner, N.C., where he worked with inmates and staff at its Federal Medical Center who were facing terminal illnesses.
"It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," Adams said of that placement. "There is something special about being with people at the end. It's a sacred time and space that individuals must allow you into."
At the end of his time at Butner, Adams was recognized as that institution's 2004-05 Volunteer of the Year. He continues to spend time at the facility, leading workshops, preaching for worship and memorial services, and visiting with inmates.
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| Tracey Adams worked on several projects, including a study of the ethics of pain management. |
Tracey Adams, working on a joint masters degree in divinity and social work, has engaged in several field education experiences through the Institute.
Among them:
- Working with Institute Director Richard Payne and Will Rowe, the executive director of the American Pain Foundation, on a project dealing with the ethics of pain management;
- Working with Institute Deputy Director Jeanne Twohig in exploring the role of social workers within palliative care teams;
- Working with Tonya Armstrong, a visiting lecturer at the Institute, to explore the ways in which children experience the reality of death.
Adams also began the process of organizing future educational experiences for students interested in end-of-life care issues.
"Each of these projects has given me important insights into palliative and end-of-life care," she said. "Insights which I know will serve me well as a minister and social worker."
Ashley Pickerel, also a master of divinity student at Duke, served in a 10-week placement at The Forest at Duke Health this summer. This placement came through collaboration of the Institute with the divinity school's field education office.
Pickerel was responsible for providing pastoral care to 50 residents through one-on-one visitation, as well as leading prayer services and Bible studies. Through this experience she developed pastoral care skills and also learned how to better minister to those in a long-term care facility.
"This experience has given me both a valuable insight and a better understanding of the impact of chronic illness in the lives of those in long-term care facilities," she said. "I have also been amazed at the persevering nature and fortitude that people show in facing each new challenge in their lives. It has been a gift to me to be able to walk with these people through their struggles and to rejoice with them in their joys."
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| David Tolley was a research fellow with the Institute this summer, studying "the landscape of partnerships between academic institutions and community hospice organizations." |
David Tolley who graduated from Yale Divinity School in May with a master's degree in theological ethics, served as a research fellow with the Institute this summer, studying what he calls "the landscape of partnerships between academic institutions and community hospice organizations."
Tolley's work will help with an Institute effort to offer university-wide resources to community hospice organizations both locally and around the country. In pursuing his project, Tolley has worked with such national leaders in end-of-life care as the president of the hospice that cared for Terri Schiavo.
"These people have so much wisdom about good end-of-life care, and it is a privilege to learn from them," Tolley said. "They also have such passion for making care at life's end better. They are forward thinking in terms of education, interdisciplinary collaboration and the importance of research in the hospice movement."
Tolley will continue his involvement with the Institute next year with funding from the Donaghue Initiative in Behavioral and Biomedical Research Ethics at Yale. Institute Director Payne will serve as his principal advisor on a project entitled, "A Research Agenda for Hospice Palliative Care: Problems, Barriers, and Priorities."
Payne noted that all of the summer opportunities benefited the Institute as well as the students.
"The Institute on Care at the End of Life is committed to the creation of wisdom," he said. "These summer opportunities are one avenue of creating such wisdom and infusing our work with fresh ideas. I hope this is an effort we can continue and perhaps expand in future summers."
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