A Working Gal

I've just had my first couple of days in my new job/program.  So far, it's just been orientation, but it's starting to give me a feel for how people dress, and how my head covering choices will go over with my colleagues.  So far, no problems at all.

Look for an influx of professional outfits (or well, collars, from all you can usually see) with my "what I wore" shots, and probably a companionable increase in either whimsy or simplicity in my shabbos photos.

Ethnic Dress

I came across this link courtesy of alreadypretty.com, a fashion and body image blog that I'm fond of.  It talks about the way that women are regarded in professional settings.  It asks whether the way that women are advised to dress in order to get respect actually forces us to play down our own guiding principles- and how to bring ethnic clothing into a professional context.

It seems a little bit off-topic for this blog, but given my recent post about wearing a tichel at work, it seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

What do you think of it?

Being Professional, Interfaith, and Accessible

Do you think this could look like a chaplain you'd want to talk to, if you or a relative or friend was in the hospital?  

One of the things I've been thinking about and worrying about lately has been my head covering and my soon-to-be job.  I don't know the ethnic break-down at the hospital where I'll be doing my residency as a chaplain, or how they will respond to a woman in a tichel, or to a female rabbi, or to a female rabbi in a tichel.  It all depends on perspective- what is a strange/exotic ethnic practice to one is immodest and insufficiently covering to another.

When I last did CPE (clinical pastoral education), I was wearing kippot, mostly, especially while at work (I did headbands/scarves on my off-time).  They served as my "look, I'm a religious professional" marker.  It was mostly for myself, since many of my patients didn't really know much about Jews- I was mistaken for a Mennonite a few times.

So this will be an experimental process.  I really don't know whether this will be a factor I need to deal with in being an accessible presence for patients and staff or not.

I do know that my "Orthodox" appearance prompted a concerned question or two from my soon-to-be supervisor, during my interview.  I don't know what that says about the culture of the place where I'll be working and learning.

I am afraid that I will need to adapt my practice in ways that make me uncomfortable, in order to be professional.  I don't think I should need to, but there's that little niggling fear that says "maybe it's too foreign looking for non-Jews to feel comfortable with".  It's just one piece of "new job" anxiety- but I needed to acknowledge it separately, so here we are.