Episode 15 | Life Lessons From 1,000 Deathbeds | Guest: J.S. Park, Hospital Chaplain, Tampa General Hospital

What Nobody Tells Us

My guest today is J.S. (Joon) Park, a hospital chaplain at Tampa General Hospital, one of the top-ranked U.S. medical facilities with over 1,000 beds. J.S. is the son of first generation Korean immigrants, a childhood trauma and abuse survivor, and now a husband and father to a three year-old daughter of his own (with another baby on the way).

If you've heard of the term hospital chaplain but aren't entirely what it means, a hospital chaplain is a nonjudgmental and compassionate presence who attends every death and Code Blue, helps with end-of-life decision-making, notifyies family members of loved ones in the ER, and advocating for patients and families in crisis, and participates in grief counseling.

J.S. has recently been featured on CNN and the Today Show, sharing his chaplain's perspective on being a "grief catcher" and expanding upon the commons lessons, fears and regrets of the dying. In our 1:1 conversation we go deeper, exploring:

• How the trauma and racism he experienced in his early years motivated him to become a chaplain
• His fears, hesitations and expectations prior to becoming a parent, while celebrating the joy, love, and the inexplicable behavior of his now three-year-old daughter (IYKYK).
• The training and education needed to become a chaplain
• How he reconciled being an atheist as he pursued a career in chaplaincy
• The definition of a chaplain, specific duties required of a chaplain, and the types of scenarios chaplains are called to in the hospital
• The two jobs all people should have to forever change their perspective on life
• His thoughtful approach to various bedside scenarios, from 1:1 interactions with a patient vs. entering a room full of family and chaos
• Why walking into each hospital room is like landing on a different planet
• Debunking misperceptions and stigmas around hospital chaplains
• Explaining chaplaincy as "Unhaunting the Room"
• Why he describes his role as a "Therapriest"
• How he keeps his patients' legacies alive
• His philosophy on parenting his three year-old daughter, in light of his work

I can't thank J.S. enough for being so generous with his time, open heart, stories and memories. This beautiful conversation is one I'll cherish for a long time.

Resources:

1. The Voices We Carry
2. J.S. on Instagram
3. J.S. on Facebook
4. J.S. Blog