The Pause: Why Healthcare Workers Need 45 Seconds After a Code

About the Guest
Linda- is a hospital chaplain who supports patients, families, and healthcare teams through some of the most difficult moments in the hospital. Her work focuses on emotional support, team resilience, and helping clinicians process experiences that are often left unspoken

Key Takeaways
- The Pause is a short moment of silence after a death that acknowledges both the patient and the care team.
- Rituals like this help healthcare workers process grief in environments that rarely allow time to stop.
- Chaplains support not only families, but also staff navigating loss and moral distress.
- Even brief structured reflection can strengthen team connection after difficult events.
- Creating space for meaning after loss helps sustain clinicians in high-intensity environments like the ICU.


Links & Resources
- Johnathan Bartels and The Pause resources - https://thepause.me/


Timestamps
0:00 – Introduction to the episode and guest chaplain Linda
2:15 – What a hospital chaplain does (beyond supporting families)
6:40 – How chaplains support healthcare teams after difficult cases
10:12 – What The Pause is and how it started
14:30 – What happens during The Pause in real clinical settings
19:05 – Why ritual matters in medicine after patient death
23:18 – Supporting staff grief and moral distress
28:44 – Barriers to doing The Pause in busy clinical environments
33:27 – How teams can begin incorporating The Pause


If this conversation resonated with you, share it with a colleague who has ever walked out of a patient room and kept going without a chance to pause. Subscribe to Banter at the Bedside and join us as we continue exploring the stories and experiences that shape life in healthcare.