Finding himself in the hospital a few years ago, Rabbi Samuel Karff was reminded of how dehumanizing healthcare can be. He resolved to do something about it, and the Sacred Vocation project came into being. 
     
While a patient, Rabbi Karff noticed that the hospital is often just as demoralizing for employees as it is for patients. He wondered how the sense of calling, the sense of sacred vocation, that originally brought healthcare workers to the field could be rekindled. He wondered how a sense of dignity could be restored to healthcare workers and patients alike. 
     
Rabbi Karff designed the Sacred Vocation program to meet this crying need. A three-phase program, Sacred Vocation begins by working with small groups of employees to help them recognize their work as a sacred vocation. Through five 90-minute sessions, employees share their stories of what brought them to healthcare, how their work is connected to their spirituality, and how they understand vocation. Rabbi Karff underscores the importance of affirming all forms of spirituality represented in the groups, both those forms connected to various religions and those forms not connected to religion. At the end of Phase I, participants develop a Sacred Vocation oath, which they take publicly in a graduation ceremony. 
     
Phase II focuses on improving the workplace. In five 60-minute small-group sessions, employees focus on what changes management could make that would create a better environment for living out one's sacred vocation at work. In a recent sacred vocation program, for example, a group of certified nursing assistants made 27 recommendations to management, 24 of which management implemented. Morale soared among the CNAs, and patient satisfaction increased dramatically. 
     
Phase III focuses on ongoing implementation. Tailored to each organization's needs, it helps integrate the Sacred Vocation program into the organization's ongoing life. 
     
Sacred Vocation has been implemented in a variety of settings. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, the San Jose Clinic (a clinic for low-income clients in Houston), the Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and the Denver Harbor Clinic in Houston have all participated in Sacred Vocation. 
     
What is the bottom line of this focus on employees' spirituality and vocation? Sacred Vocation boasts a high success rate, both in employee morale and in patient satisfaction. While the program is still new and more research is needed to establish its efficacy in various environments, early indications are positive. "The Sacred Vocation Program is probably the best investment we've made in the last 10 years," claims John McWhorter, CEO of Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. 
     
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits, to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com.