Bedside Manners: A Practical Guide to Visiting the Ill

Most people have encountered a situation with an ill friend or relative when it has been difficult to know what to say or do. Even pastors and others in ministry are often at a loss when encountered with a critically ill person who is looking to them for some comfort and guidance.
Katie Maxwell's Bedside Manners provides the reader practical directions for offering care in a variety of settings, including hospitals, the homes of shut-ins, and nursing homes. She even addresses often overlooked concerns-such as the pastoral care of children, caregivers, and patients who are dying-and offers intelligent advice like be prepared, be human, be silent, and be positive.
Highly practical and inspiring, Bedside Manners is essential reading for anyone who has felt uncomfortable when trying to comfort the sick.

From the Back Cover

Do your palms sweat when you walk into a hospital to visit a critically ill friend? Do you want to visit your uncle in the nursing home but are unsure of what to say? Do you know someone with a terminal illness and feel helpless to comfort him or her?

You're not alone.

Illness is a spiritual, emotional, and physical crisis. As a trained hospital counselor, Katie Maxwell knows that visitation takes practice and patience. She also knows the mistakes even a well-intentioned visitor can make and has made a few herself. In Bedside Manners, Maxwell offers valuable insight into visitation, whether it be in hospitals, nursing homes, or the homes of shut-ins. Writing from personal experience and drawing from appropriate Scripture references and various resources, Maxwell teaches you how to be open, compassionate, empathetic, and sensitive to a patient's needs and conditions.

Whether you're a pastor or counselor who is at a loss when encountering a critically ill person or just a friend seeking some intelligent advice, Bedside Manners will give you the encouragement you need to comfort the sick.


Katie Maxwell has had years of firsthand experience visiting the ill. The executive director of church ministries at First Covenant Church, Katie lives in Sacramento, California.