Deacon Mike Steele, Ph.D., on a different focus for overnight chaplains

Night Chaplaincy

Chaplain duties are usually prioritized and directly related to a facility’s size, its area of specialization and the number of chaplains available on a twenty-four hour basis. In most hospitals the night chaplain is an on-call person; but in some hospitals, a full-time night chaplain like me is required.

My responsibilities are often the consequence of being the only chaplain in a very busy Level One Trauma Center with an in-house nighttime capacity of 550 patients; but those duties are not the subject of this article. It is my thoughts about the nightly care of the hospital staff that I wish to share.

The night hours provide a dramatically different clinical environment than the daylight hours. The daytime and early evening tension level subsides proportionally because the majority of the patients are asleep. Plus the hundreds of visitors and medical support personnel such as physical and speech therapists are not in the hallways.

As a result, if the chaplain makes it a priority, he or she has an opportunity to develop familial relationships with both the medical and non-medical staff in a way and at a depth that is not possible during the day. This is a chaplain’s dream. Where else can a chaplain provide a listening ear, compassionate heart, words of encouragement and spiritual counsel to the members of his or her congregation on a nightly basis?

Meaningful relationships with staff members easily emanate from interpersonal interactions often associated with the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of ER and hospital traumas, patient deaths, pediatric crises and other situations. The storied relationships flourish and can serve as an introduction and endorsement of the chaplain by current staff members to new staff members as they are hired or rotate among the floors.

Those relationships multiply exponentially with a growing responsibility to meet the spiritual needs of many staff members who do not attend worship services because of the hours worked, family pressures, or reported personal disappointment with previous clergy.

As a result, and on an as-needed basis, there are opportunities for mini-liturgies, such as blessings of engagements, marriages, expectant mothers, transfers, promotions, even requests to bless new homes. These moments are not just moments of prayer between the chaplain and the requestor, but a gathering of the staff on a particular unit or floor section wherein they come together in a participatory role, sharing parts of scripture readings and prayers that formulate sacred time together. The result is that those who participate are uplifted and anxious to share their joy with others and also make certain that future opportunities are brought to the chaplain’s attention. It is these harmonious relationships that originate staff pastoral referrals amidst an atmosphere of trust and teamwork built on love and spiritual understanding.