And so it begins...

CPE, that is: Clinical Pastoral Education (or, as Tripp says, Pastoral Boot Camp). Most of the area programs started Monday, but the program at the University of Chicago Hospitals kicked off today. I'm glad to finally get started.

Actually, today was mostly introductions, and bookkeeping, and getting started on orientation. There are 6 people in my group-- three men and three women. We come from Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Unitarian Universalist faith traditions, and a variety of cultural backgrounds; it's going to be a good group, I think. One of the women lives down here in Park Forest, so we may try carpooling whenever our schedules mesh.

We each had a pile of stuff waiting for us when we got there-- handbook (including maps, thank goodness-- the place is HUGE!), calendar/schedule, pager, and multiple keys. Spent quite some time going over all of the above, making sure it all works in ways we understand. We then got a tour of the Pastoral Care offices, which are actually in a converted brownstone just north of the hospital. There are 5 desks for the 6 of us to use-- but also a large table that will serve for work space. It's near an ethernet port, so I can just take my laptop and plug in.

Wardrobe-- generally, "business casual," though there are lab coats we can use. Those may be handy on days I don't wear something with pockets. We talked about clericals and the possibility of wearing a collar, and Terry (our supervisor) suggested trying it later, just to get a feel for how that changes the dynamics. She's left the choice up to us. I may give it a try, later in the summer, but I want to begin to get a handle on the job, first, I think.

This afternoon we had a discussion with the pediatric family advocate, and a short tour of one of the pediatric floors. Awesome. Tomorrow is orientation re: Adult ICUs and Emergency Medicine.

It was a good day, and I'm exhausted.