“I promise to take care of both you and me – mind, body and spirit.”
We all strive to live this Our Texas Health PromiseSM Behavior every day, but Rebecca Byrd Terry might have an edge.
Rebecca, MDiv, B.S.N., R.N., works in the Texas Health Fort Worth antepartum unit, helping women with high-risk pregnancies who need to be hospitalized. But before becoming a nurse, Rebecca was a chaplain at Texas Health.
“I got my master’s of divinity from Wake Forest University,” she said. “Even then, I was interested in a nursing career, but my family and I had just moved back to Texas, and I had a 9-month-old baby, so I couldn’t go back to school. I thought the chaplain residency program would be a good fit.”
Elizabeth Watson Martin, who led the residency program and is now vice president of faith and spirituality integration, agreed.
“Rebecca wasn’t the typical chaplain resident,” she said. “Most of them are deciding between chaplaincy or leading a congregation. But I know how important it is to have mothers in the ministry. I have a special place in my heart for nurturing, affirming women who feel called.”
The residency was also an opportunity to advance her interest in women’s services and midwifery. She began a support group for parents of babies in Texas Health Fort Worth’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and when her residency ended, she stayed on as the primary chaplain for women’s services.
“While I was there, I really fell in love with the antepartum unit,” Rebecca said. “I loved the staff, and I loved working with the patients. We have some of the longest stays in the hospital, so it was really meaningful to work there was a chaplain. You really have a chance to build a relationship.”
After a stint as a PRN chaplain at Texas Health Southwest, Rebecca went through an accelerated nursing program at Texas Christian University (TCU) and a residency in labor and delivery at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. In 2015, she returned to Texas Health Fort Worth.
“As part of my TCU program, I spent six weeks on the antepartum unit with a nurse preceptor,” she said. “I really liked the patient population and the nurses. And frankly, I just really missed Texas Health Fort Worth.”
Rebecca said her history as a chaplain can be both a help and a hindrance.
“When you walk into a room as a chaplain, people are more open to talking to you,” she said. “When I go in as a nurse, they think I’m there to complete some task, not to sit and listen. I have to work a little harder to get them to open up.”
But being a chaplain also taught her that what people say might not match how they feel.
“It honed my skills in listening to what’s not being said, in addition to what is,” she said. “Given that our patients are with us for such a long time, it’s really helpful in understanding their situation a little bit better.”
Rebecca said patients in her unit are often there for six weeks or longer, and she enjoys getting to know not only the women, but their families.
“It can be hard on our patients,” she said. “Pregnancy is usually a happy time, and being hospitalized for an extended period isn’t part of their happy picture. They don’t get to have a baby shower, or have fun shopping for baby things, or decorate a nursery.
“And a lot of our patients come from West Texas, so they’re also separated from their families, friends and often their other children. It can be really hard on them, and lonely. So that chaplain training really comes into play.”
by Robin P. Loveman • Posted August 21, 2018
