THE ROLE AND BENEFITS OF SPIRITUAL CARE IN HEALTHCARE
Spirituality simply refers to how we, in the essence of our humanity, find and make meaning in life. Spirituality is at the center of everything we do but is only one component of faith and religion. It is the human ability to transcend any experience or circumstance, yet find hope, purpose and meaning as we seek to see beyond the situation. That is core of spirituality … where we root our lives in our beliefs, practices and values to create meaning.
Spiritual care is a spiritual practice that is offered in many healthcare settings to support those coping with the complexities of life and health. In a healthcare setting, spiritual care plays an essential role in the services provided to patients, families and staff. This work is done through the work of professional chaplains. Many hold a common misunderstanding regarding the role chaplains play in the healthcare environment. It is often thought that the purpose of a chaplain is mainly to offer prayer at end of life. However, in today’s healthcare arena, chaplains are called upon to journey with patients and families as they adjust to illness and diagnoses and to be the bridge between the medical staff and the families’ beliefs and wishes. Chaplains help those they encounter find meaning as they navigate life situations. Additionally, chaplains offer significant support to staff and physicians to help mitigate workplace stress and anxiety.
Chaplains work with people of all faith backgrounds and even those who profess to be agnostic or atheist. One of the strongest skills a chaplain can provide is active listening. Patients and families often engage in God talk, which alerts chaplains of their spiritual distress. Questions such as “why has God abandoned me? Or why is God punishing me?” may arise. Other signs of spiritual distress may be visible including hopelessness, anger, sadness, despondence, loss, emptiness and despair. In such times, the chaplain offers hope, comfort, support, connection and compassion.
Most chaplain’s follow Fowler’s Stages of Development to provide spiritual care for both adult and pediatric patients. This is important because children are not small adults. Spiritual care from birth through end of life occurs in developmental stages and should be addressed accordingly. Following developmentally appropriate measures helps ensure that all patients have a developmentally appropriate sense of what is occurring in their lives. Chaplains help these patients and families create goals and plans of care in accordance with their values, beliefs and concerns.
In large, chaplaincy is a professional discipline that requires very specific training. Chaplaincy requires a Master of Divinity and for most hospitals at least four units or one year of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). This educational standard prohibits some hospitals from accepting clergy who lack formalized training from becoming volunteer chaplains. Since unique and spiritual assessments are performed, this structure upholds the competencies of professional chaplaincy as according to the Board of Chaplain Certification (BCCI), the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) and other spiritual care accrediting organizations. This affords chaplains an opportunity to be an integral part of interdisciplinary teams as plans of care are made. This also helps incorporate spiritual well-being into the multi-disciplinary approach to holistic care. Additionally, chaplain’s work is authenticated in the electronic medical record, where all other disciplines document care.
Chaplains are advocates, working to ensure the equitable and inclusive treatment of patients and families and to ensure a safe work environment for staff. Many chaplains work with administrative, medical and psychosocial teams to address social determinants of health and biases that influence decisions and barriers to healthcare; particularly with those with complex medical needs. Another function of the chaplains is to provide pastoral counseling. Although many institutions provide professional counseling through Employee Assistance Program (EAP), there any many in the workplace who prefer to spiritual support. Chaplains offer that support whether it is a personal or a workplace concern.
The reality is, when an individual is admitted to the hospital, the entire family unit, social concerns and complex relationships become part of the hospitalization. A chaplain is able to sit with the patient and/or family individually and collectively to assist them in finding spiritual grounding. The same is similar for staff. People cannot always compartmentalize their personal concerns when they come to work. Chaplains provide support when staff receives difficult news through a phone call or text, when they are overwhelmed and/or when a situation in the hospital or in the community shakes them to their cores. At such times, debriefings are a valuable tool in a chaplain’s arsenal. Chaplains hold team or individual debriefings to help decompress or de-escalated staff and families’ spiritual and emotional distress.
The current trend in spiritual care is to provide trauma informed ministry. The past two and a half years of the pandemic have been traumatizing in one form or another for most people. The pandemic has un-layered a barrage of mental health concerns. It has also brought the importance of spiritual well-being into many healthcare conversations. We have seen an uptick in mental health needs with both the pediatric population and adults. Additionally, the number of attempted and completed suicides have risen. Trauma informed ministry allows chaplains to interact with patients, families and staff from the perspective that each has experienced a physical or emotional event that has caused despair, pain, grief and suffering. In providing trauma informed ministry chaplains offer safe spaces to provide comfort and compassion without re-traumatizing the individual.
Lastly, chaplains are the spiritual voice of the influence in a healthcare setting. They can offer daily words of encouragement as well as invocations, dedications, blessings and religious rituals. You may find the chaplain providing words of inspiration and guidance on community engagement, giving a faith perspective on current events, advocating for social justice, shaping culture, team building and resilience training. Chaplains educate nurses, interns, residents, fellows, faculty and other staff in being culturally/spiritually sensitive and appropriate.
Offering a robust department of spiritual care is a healthcare asset. Healthcare systems that provide continual services help create a culture of holistic care for patients, families and staff. The extra support given through chaplains can in turn help improve the patients’ and family members’ healthcare experience.
Published in https://hospice-care.healthcarebusinessreview.com/cxoinsight/the-role-and-benefits-of-spiritual-care-in-healthcare-nwid-799.html
““Spiritual care is a spiritual practice that is offered in many healthcare settings to support those coping with the complexities of life and health.””
