Path to Leadership

1. Path to Leadership Basic Ministry Skills How to Make a Hospital Visit

2. How to MakeA Hospital Visit Path to Leadership • Arrive after 10:00 AM • Knock for permission to enter and wait for an invitation to enter the room. • Listen closely; hospital rooms doors are thick and the patient's voice may be weak! • Introduce yourself to the patient. • Position yourself in the line of the patient’s vision.

3. Things Not to Do InA Hospital Visit Path to Leadership • Don’t offer your hand… let the patient invite a handshake. • Don’t sit down, except at the invitation of the patient. • Neversit on the bed. • Do not wake a sleeping patient. • Leave a handwritten note • Perhaps, along with a devotional magazine. • Don’t offer medical advice or tell about someone else who had the same thing.

4. Keep Visits Brief Path to Leadership • Normally, visits should last 5 to 10 minutes • Depending on relationship, purpose, and the patient’s state of health. • If you arrive at mealtime, make your visit very brief. • If their Doctor comes in, excuse yourself immediately.

5. How to MakeA Hospital Visit Path to Leadership • Focus on the patient once you are in the room. • Instead of asking, • “How are you feeling?” • …You might ask, • “How are things going today?” • Listen; Let the patient do most of the talking.

6. Offer Prayer As You Leave Path to Leadership • When it is time to leave, offer a prayer • With the patient’s permission • When possible, hold the patient’s hand or gently place your hand on the patient’s arm or shoulder. • When praying, be comprehensive and specific. • Pray for the patient’s freedom from pain • Pray about family concerns, if any • Pray for God’s will to be accomplished in this sickness and recovery • Express dependence upon the Lord

7. Path to Leadership