Chaplains' mission: Address needs of specific patients
Chaplains' mission: Address needs of specific patients
Goal: Meet the patients where they are
One of the most significant events in a person's life one often intertwined with his or her philosophies, values, and spiritual beliefs is the process of dying and death.
To make the transition as peaceful and comfortable as possible, chaplains play what they consider to be an essential role for the patients they counsel. Now, chaplains and hospices are being challenged to meet the diverse needs of an increasingly multicultural patient population.
There is a growing awareness in all of health care that due to an increasingly multicultural society and therefore, multicultural patient population health care providers, institutions and, above all, chaplains, should practice a high level of cultural sensitivity.
According to J. Vincent Guss, DMin and MDiv, chaplain of Falcons Landing Air Force Retired Officers Community in Potomac Falls, VA, the line between spirituality and the healer is strictly separate in most cases today. "I believe it's more respectful to the patient when physicians, nurses, and other health care practitioners are interested in spiritual dynamics from a holistic healing perspective," Guss says. "I think then there's a much greater openness."
Spirituality might not be primary focus
It is not necessarily the responsibility of the chaplain to deal with patients on a spiritual level; the goal is to meet the needs of the patient, whatever the patient may need. David Johnson, DMin, BCC, president-elect of the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) in Schaumburg, IL, says, "I think as a profession, the responsibilities of a chaplain are pretty global. They supposedly meet patients where they are, regardless of their own spiritual beliefs or value systems. So, it's not that the individual is valueless [himself or herself], but the chaplain is trained to be able to engage the patient or the individual at their need, as opposed to what the chaplain believes is a point of need."
Johnson says chaplains also are trained to observe the patient. "We're trained to listen, and not only to the words, but also to the emotional and unconscious messages that might help patients and families be able to verbalize what they may be feeling or thinking, but are afraid to express," he says.
Chaplains often play key roles in ethical decision making regarding care. They often serve on hospital ethics committees and play a key role in ethics consults.
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Medical separation of church and state Earlier this year, the National Secular Society in the UK called for an end to chaplains in the National Health Service, according to a report by the BBC, due to its belief that there should be separation between church and state, as explained by the Rev. Dr. Derek Brown, DMin, lead chaplain, NHS Highland, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, in Scotland. Brown says he thinks chaplains in the UK face similar challenges to those in the United States, particularly in convincing some of the value of chaplains. "I think there are similar challenges in the sense of trying to find a place in the health care system, if you like," Brown says. "And to some extent, we have a place in that, and it's a valued place. He said this was demonstrated when a "fury" from various elements arose when the National Secular Society suggested ending public funding of chaplains. "What I don't think they understand ... is the breadth and the scope of the chaplaincy in the UK," Brown says. "It is not just about religious people visiting other religious people and getting paid by taxpayers." Although British chaplains represent diverse religions, they tend to be Anglican in England and those in Scotland tend to be Church of Scotland Presbyterian. However, there also is a Muslim chaplain who heads a large health trust in London. "That's one example of the multifaith [approach] that works very well, but it's not just about caring for that particular faith group, although he would be doing that anyway, but it's not his whole job, if you like," Brown says. In the United States, there is ongoing discussion within the chaplaincy community here regarding whether chaplains should be licensed by the individual states, much like physicians and nurses, says Vincent Guss, DMin, MDiv, chaplain of Falcons Landing Air Force Retired Officers Community, Potomac Falls, MD. "We have that [religious] sensitivity, but even then, when you bring that church and state thing up, it's still an issue of, 'Do we want the secular world to be in any control of the spiritual world?'" he says. |
Regarding his facility, Guss says, "These are ethical issues and clinical issues that have a spiritual dimension, and it's my duty to identify the spiritual dimension, to identify clergy or religious scripture or sacramental resources that might be appropriate for those who are religious, or to find other people in the community who can be supportive to address [the patient's] value systems, what is important to them and to identify how they see themselves in relation to these problems."
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Chaplains typically minister not just to patients, but also to the health care team. Multicultural patients present challenges The Joint Commission is proposing revised and additional standards, expected to be part of the association's typical surveys at hospitals, on matters that include the following: staff training on cultural sensitivity, inclusion of health literacy needs in learning needs assessment, nondiscrimination in care, and informing patients of their right to receive language access services. "I think the challenges today are the issues of diversity," Johnson says. "As we are becoming more multicultural, less singular in focus, for that reason we have to have a broader understanding of religion ... and theologies and requirements, so we have to train in [such things as] food requirements and interpret that to the institution." Guss says when he was a hospital chaplain, "probably the most challenging thing was defending, supporting, and advocating for people whose religious convictions were not my own, and that it looked like they may have been going against their medical best interests." Cases in point include certain Middle Eastern and other cultures where those religions do not allow women to have "the same participation in their health care," he says. Despite that challenge, Guss says, he would find a way to advocate for that patient, "although it would go against my values, and the values we have here in Western medicine, as well as Western religion, and yet finding a way to create dialogue and respect with those folks." |
Need More Information?
For more information on chaplains, contact:
Rev. Dr. Derek Brown, DMin, Lead Chaplain, NHS Highland, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, Scotland. E-mail: [email protected].
J. Vincent Guss, DMin, MDiv, Chaplain, Falcons Landing Air Force Retired Officers Community, Potomac Falls, MD. E-mail: [email protected].
David Johnson, DMin, BCC, Assistant Director for Operations, Pastoral Care Department, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC. E-mail: David.Clark. [email protected].
One of the most significant events in a person's life one often intertwined with his or her philosophies, values, and spiritual beliefs is the process of dying and death.Subscribe Now for Access
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