Chaplain

Overview

The hospice chaplain's primary responsibility is to provide emotional and spiritual counseling to patients and their families. ... Additionally, chaplains provide bereavement services, including phone calls, visits and memorial services, to family members upon the death of a patient.

Reporting Relationship

Supervised by:     Spiritual Counselor
Positions Supervised:     N/A
Interrelationships:     Patients, family, IDG, and other healthcare team members

Qualifications

1. Ordained and endorsed minister, priest, rabbi or a member of a religious order preferred or lay person with certified training in pastoral care.

2. Personal /professional experience working with death and dying preferred.

3. Familiar/comfortable working with varied spiritual/religious practices

Knowledge/Skills/Ability

Ability to work independently, make accurate, and at times, quick judgments. Ability to respond appropriately to crisis outside of a hospital setting. Acceptance of and adaptability to different social, racial, cultural and religious modes.

Job Factors

Physical Requirements

Requires minimal physical effort most of the day including kneeling, squatting, reaching, twisting, climbing, walking, exposure to temperature and humidity changes and minimal assist in lifting and/or transferring of a 20 pound patient. Must possess sight/hearing senses or use appropriate adaptive devices that will enable senses to function at a level required to meet the essential duties of the position. Must provide evidence of annual TB test, COVID vaccine and other state-required tests or exams. 

Mental Requirements

Must be able to work independently, make judgments based on assessments and data available and act accordingly. Must be flexible, innovative and possess good interpersonal skills. Must be able to cope with mental and emotional stress and demonstrate emotional stability.

Working Conditions

Be able to tolerate exposure to elements including, but not limited to, odors, blood, body fluids and excrements, adverse environmental conditions and hazardous materials.

Transportation

Must have a current valid driver’s license, auto liability insurance and reliable transportation.

Essential Functions

1. To represent a spiritual presence and connection with the religious/spiritual roots of the hospice movement.
2. To provide a constant reminder to hospice workers that beyond the physical and emotional support we give, our patients may desire to have spiritual resources of their choosing.
3. To be a spiritual resource to team members and assist them in their growth or in dealing with their grief.
4. To document the patient/family’s religious/spiritual needs and resources on the intake/assessment form and to complete progress notes in the patient’s chart following each contact.
5. To raise, when appropriate in a patient care conference, the possibility of spiritual needs of the patient and family and to report interventions.
6. To provide, when invited, direct spiritual counsel, prayer and sacraments to patients and their families.
7. To interface with the patient/families’ own clergyman, rabbi or their own congregation, if requested.
8. To provide encouragement to patients and families to make arrangements in advance regarding the funeral, wills, requests, obituaries and interment, and to be available to officiate at funeral services if requested.
9. To be present at time of death, if requested.
10. To provide literature and spiritual resources that may be of assistance to patients and families.
11. To complete Bereavement Risk Assessments according to procedural guidelines.
12. To attend scheduled patient care conferences, Quality Improvement Meetings; staff meetings and all other applicable meetings and in-services.
13. To recruit and supervise volunteer chaplains if needed.
14. To participate in the patient/family problem-oriented care plan.
15. Offer a spiritual opening at the beginning of patient care conference.
16. To attend required agency events such as Volunteer Recognition, Memorial Service etc.
17. Weddings, funeral and sacraments that are not directly related to HOV patient/family care will be done at Chaplain’s discretion on Chaplain’s own time and not under the auspices of Hospice.
18. The Chaplain is required to provide point of service electronic charting and documentation at time of patient visit or admission. Ability to operate a computer and / or a tablet PC, and proficiency with Windows-based software programs, is required.