Education is the Best Advocate

Professional chaplains are often faced with the dilemma of how to advocate for our role as members of an interdisciplinary team, especially within healthcare settings.

One of the roles of chaplains identified in the 2001 white paper “Professional Chaplaincy: Its Role and Importance in Healthcare,’” published by five of the cognate chaplaincy organizations, is that of educator. The role of educator is one of the best ways that we can advocate for our profession. By incorporating teaching opportunities into our interactions with clinical and medical staff, we provide not only much-needed information about the spiritual and cultural needs of patients and families, but also a glimpse of the all-encompassing work that chaplains do.

Building relationships with the clinical and medical education departments of our institutions is the first step. Talk to the directors of those departments about what needs they’ve identified for the organization and how you might provide leadership. Many chaplains present introductory information about the spiritual care services they provide in new employee or new resident orientation. While these are important opportunities not to be missed, don’t stop there. Find out about what educational offerings are being planned in your facility—on-going nursing inservices, workshops, and medical staff grand rounds are good examples. Explore informal opportunities such as brown bag lunch gatherings and discussions, and offer to facilitate one. Oftentimes the chaplain’s perspective and knowledge in working with end-of-life, communication, or cultural and spirituality issues is overlooked in such events. You have a great deal of knowledge and expertise to share, and it can only benefit the staff as well as patients and families.

Of course, for chaplains to be involved in educational projects, it means that we need to hone teaching skills, with particular attention to the needs of adult learners and the unique learning curves of medical personnel. Again, this is where your education department can be an invaluable resource. Utilize the expertise of education specialists to help you design, implement, and then evaluate your presentations. Spend the time necessary to make your presentation attractive and useful. Remember: Clinical and medical staff typically focus on “how does this impact my practice?” rather than sorting through theory.

Advocacy is a responsibility for all of us within the profession. As we sharpen our skills as educators, and share our expertise with the members of the interdisciplinary team, we are doing more than simply sharing knowledge. We are building relationships and identifying ourselves as valuable resources. This will bring fruit in our clinical work, as well.

Do you have thoughts about professional practice you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail of any length to info@PlainViews.org.