3/1/2006 Vol. 3, No. 3

Professional Practice

Rev. Dr. Glenn A. Robitaille on respect for the beliefs of others

Confessions of a Relativist

Paul R. Fleischman describes calling as “a pinhole through which a person can glimpse the other religious dimensions of life.”Not a portal; not a bay window; a “pinhole to dampen the diffusion of light, so the whole heavens can be clearly seen.”

The question of how deeply connected a chaplain must be to a specific faith community has been well discussed in recent articles. I must confess that I am among those whose spiritual direction has been more eclectic in the last decade. I would likely qualify as one of those quasi thinkers who can more adequately be described as spiritual than religious. I have done the dogmatic route, from my early Roman Catholic upbringing to my conservative evangelical conversion, and now find myself in that uncomfortable predicament of being comfortably relativistic. There, I have said it. I am a relativist. I have trouble with dogma. I can accept narrow definitions of truth as being necessary for some (or even most), and as a way of ensuring the survival of specific religious groups, but not for me.

Somewhere along the line I gained an appreciation for the beliefs of others. By some strange magic that I cannot fully explain, I can remain connected to my Christian beliefs while being warmly inspired by the Eight-fold Path of Buddhism, or the myths and stories of Aboriginal spirituality. I am not bothered by the literal contradictions, or the fact that one cannot call Jesus the “Way, the Truth and the Life”and accept the existence of other ways and truths as equally valid. I don’t care about the incongruence of my eclecticism. I am where I am.

Perhaps it is that expanding view of truth that makes Fleischman’s observation so meaningful for me. Through the broad window of dogma, I was able to see clearly what my own religious influences had taught me to see. As my confidence in my ability to see clearly diminished to the point where a “pinhole”offered the only available light, a universe opened up in panoramic possibility.

Admittedly, there is a fine line between relativism and agnosticism. In my own thinking, I can clearly see the elevation of doubt to the status of virtue. Imbedded in my personal doubts are the seeds of humility that have filed off the edges of my former, almost arrogant, triumphalism. In the process of deconstructing my certainties and replacing them with the awe of wonder, I have experienced the reawakening of curiosity that has made every story, every life I encounter in my ministry, interesting.

In all likelihood, I am no longer well suited to the role of sectarian caretaker. I have probably seen the last of congregational ministry. But in the world of institutional ministry where multifaith realities abound, and where I have been described as a “pseudo social worker,”“pseudo psychologist,”and other less flattering descriptions, I bring that critical element that is the bedrock of multifaith ministry: respect for the beliefs of others.

My mantra as a multifaith practitioner has been to, “Meet people where they are and walk with them”—not to drag them to that better place I have imagined, or to those particular ideas that I find personally meaningful, but to that place in them where mystery meets faith and finds solid ground on which to stand; and most importantly, hope. If that places me outside the scope of acceptability in the eyes of my Christian peers, then so be it. In the crucible of actual ministry, I have seen the results in the lives of ones with whom I have walked, relativist that I am. And I can live with it.

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

Advocacy

Rev. Sue Wintz on emergency preparedness

JCAHO and the Chaplain's Role in Preparedness

Revisions have been proposed to the JCAHO hospital standards that are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2006.

There's not a lot in these proposed revisions that apply to us as pastoral caregivers. However, there is one area that provides opportunity for chaplains to build on within their own organizations. These are the proposed revisions that address Emergency Preparedness. EC 4.20 reads “The hospital regularly tests its emergency management plan.”

The places to pay attention to are in the Elements of Performance particularly items A9, A10, A11, and B13—all of which represent opportunities to build upon the strengths of the pastoral care department.

A.9. During planned exercises the hospital monitors at least the following core performance areas: Communication including the effectiveness of communication both within the hospital as well as with response entities outside the hospital such as local governmental leadership, police, fire, public health, and other healthcare organizations within the community.

The issue in A.9 is communication. We know as professional chaplains that we contribute to effective communication within the organization, particularly during times of crisis. How can you contribute to your current organizational structure and practice?

A.10. During planned exercises the hospital monitors at least the following core performance areas: Resource mobilization and allocation including responders, equipment, supplies, personal protective equipment, transportation and security.

What is your department plan for mobilizing resources, and how is this documented? How is this communicated to your organization’s leaders?

A.11. During planned exercises the hospital monitors at least the following core performance areas: Patient management including provision of both clinical and support care activities, processes related to triage activities, patient identification and tracking processes.

What is your department’s role in emergency preparedness? How is this communicated to your administration? How can you monitor and report what it is that you are able to provide in advance of and during an emergency event?

B.13. Completed exercises are critiqued through a multi-disciplinary process that includes administration, clinical (including physicians) and support staff.

Who within your department participates in post-exercise critiques? How does that person articulate the contribution of chaplaincy? Elements of Performance B14, B15, and B16 go on to describe critiques and how the organization incorporates identified areas of improvement into its overall plan.

JCAHO standards provide chaplaincy departments with the opportunity to articulate and advocate for the work that chaplains do as members of the interdisciplinary team. It is to our advantage, as both professionals and caregivers, to be aware of proposed changes and to continue to advocate for the role of chaplaincy within our organizations.

The complete text for the proposed revisions can be found online at:
http://jcaho.org/accredited+organizations/hospitals/standards/pre-publication+standards/hap_stdrev_706.pdf

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

Education & Research

Rev. Samuel Bryan on spiritual refuge for those with AIDS

A Mission of Compassion

In August of 2005, I completed a CPE Residency at The HealthCare Chaplaincy in New York, with supervisor Rabbi Bonita E. Taylor. During that time, I served at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York with clinical site mentor Rev. Jon Overvold. The people I cared for included patients in the Infectious Diseases Unit who were suffering from the ravages of AIDS. As a result of my pastoral care work there, I was invited by the Evangelical Covenant Church of Easton, Connecticut, to travel to Africa to minister among the population affected by the AIDS epidemic.

Little did I know when I began my chaplain residency that it would lead to a mission of compassion in Kenya –a country halfway around the world. During the year, to enhance my skills, I researched pastoral care for people living with AIDS. One of the things that struck me was the emphasis on spirituality and religion among that population. One reason cited for the interest in spirituality is that people with this disease often have to deal with stigmas that victims of other diseases don’t encounter. If compassion from the world is withheld, it is only natural to seek it from another source. Many turn to spiritual resources to find comfort from their suffering.

Our mission included conducting workshops on AIDS education/awareness, and teaching church leaders spiritual care for persons with the disease. One of our goals was to make an impact on them and others who are involved in the massive task of ministering in the face of this continually spiraling epidemic. Unexpected blessings came through Dr. Bruce Hirsch, Department of Infectious Diseases, and other North Shore University Hospital staff in the form of donations of medicine, which are in short supply at clinics in Kenya. On my return, I was interviewed for the hospital newspaper, which has prompted further support for shipping medical supplies on a regular basis to that region.

Throughout our stay in Kenya, we were welcomed as we ministered in churches, hospitals, and schools. From the pulpit and in small groups, I challenged the church to show more compassion for AIDS victims who desire spiritual refuge. The church must care for those who are outcast by society, even as Jesus did in caring for the lepers of his day. One of the problems I discovered was the lack of open dialogue about the problem. So, we gave people a safe space to discuss the issues instead of sweeping them under the rug.

We also brought book bags, supplies and school uniforms for Kenyan children who have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. For many, it was the first time anyone had given them anything. It was a day they will not soon forget. It was touching to see their eyes light up, as many experienced the love of God through the hands of strangers from half a world away.

As we flew home from Kenya, we left with a sense of compassion in our hearts for the African community that has been ravaged by AIDS. We are truly blessed to live in a country where medical technology is available to care for those who suffer from the disease. It also reminds me that God’s word teaches: to whom much has been given, much is required. I am privileged to have had a small part in sharing His love.

Do you have thoughts about education & research you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org.

Spiritual Development

Chaplain David Fries on praying while looking up

Ceiling Prayer

I wonder; how can prayer be made more natural and more often practiced and more enticing? Why? Anything delightful and immediately gratifying becomes more desirable and rewarding. Prayer could be like that. I often imagine seeing my prayer on the ceiling when I am on my back looking up. That is “Me the Artist,”I suspect. I began doing this as a child. Not so strange since curiosity and seeing are instinctual to both child and artist.

A patient recently told me that she prayed whenever she was looking up. As a little girl, her mother told her, “When you find yourself down, and you are looking up, pray.”Illness and being in a hospital bed fulfilled these two requirements for prayer. But normally, she said, she prayed infrequently. So we talked about prayer and need and frequency.

As we talked, I remembered a trick/tool from the television show Location Location. It is a BBC show about finding new apartments. The clutter in one apartment being viewed was too great to see the potential. Kristy, one of the hosts, suggested to the client that she lie down on the floor and look up at the ceiling. The ceiling duplicates the floor. So they both laid down on the floor, looked up, and the whole place opened up to ideas and possibilities. It was the same space seen afresh by looking up.

“I never heard of that before”this surprised patient said. She then did the same with the ceiling, over the bed, in the hospital room. I told her, “I am an artist as well as a chaplain. One is the ceiling. One is the floor. So I can, from experience say that just as painting never fails, prayer too never fails. Artists might not like the results. They might have to paint over what they have just painted. But they always, absolutely, get results when they paint. Something that needed to be voiced from inside came outside and was communicated. For me it is always the same with prayer. Prayer never fails. Prayer does what paint does. It speaks.”Then she looked up. “I understand.”She said that she was going to pass all this along to her mother.

The only draw back to seeing prayer on the ceiling is that it is a ceiling and that it will always return to that. Gladly though, when it returns to being a ceiling, I always experience an added delight. I see how the ambient light, both natural and artificial, washes over the ceiling like watercolor. It is, under certain conditions and at certain times, a sea of light washings. While lying on my bed I can walk on the sea-ling when I look up and pray. The ceiling becomes inspirational art when I desire/pray to see it that way.

Any ceiling anywhere is for me a sea for praying on. It makes me more attuned to the space where I am. Patients appre-sea-ate this use of the ceiling.

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

EthicsWalk

EthicsWalk addresses spiritual care as an ethical enterprise. It explores why relationships between spiritual care providers and those they serve need protection, and examines what that protection entails. PlainViews invites our readers to share their responses to each EthicsWalk column, which will be published in the following issue.

If you’d like to respond to EthicsWalk, please send a comment of no more than 100 words. You can use the e-form below (click on "hearing from you," link) or submit your commentary to the editors in the body of an e-mail (or as a Microsoft Word attachment) sent to Info@PlainViews.org. Please put the phrase “EthicsWalk” in your subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Immigration Reform: Politics and the Human Spirit

Respect for persons is central to spiritual care. Spiritual care providers companion patients and families from many countries, cultures and faith traditions. What if a traumatized family had to prove its legal status in the U.S. before being served? What if supporting someone without legal status subjected the provider and institution to criminal sanctions?

The House of Representatives recently passed the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437). The Senate debates it this month. It makes “unlawful presence”a felony (presently a civil violation). Undocumented immigrants could be jailed as well as removed (deported), barring them from future legal status and re-entry into the country.[1]

Any person or organization “assisting”undocumented immigrants “to reside in or remain”in the United States “knowingly”or with “reckless disregard”as to the individual’s legal status is subject to criminal prosecution. Religious workers –spiritual care providers -- who provide shelter, other basic assistance, or counsel to undocumented individuals are not exempt.[2] Property used in assistance is subject to seizure and forfeiture.[3]

The federal government has always regulated immigration.[4] Regulations are necessary but must be humane and reasonably enforceable. The economic interdependence between native and naturalized U.S. citizens, documented (legal) immigrants, and undocumented workers (illegal immigrants) must be acknowledged.[5] Historically, the distinction between who arrives as a “legal”versus “illegal”immigrant has been one of politics, race and economics. (cf footnote 4)

Approximately 11 million undocumented people (3.5% of the American population) live in the U.S. They came for the same reasons immigrants always have: to reunite with and help support family, to educate their children, to participate in our democratic society. Undocumented, and many other immigrant statuses, are barred from receiving means-tested government benefits. Most work menial jobs native citizens scorn. “Over 80 percent of agricultural workers are foreign born while the majority of laborers in the meatpacking and poultry industries are foreign-born. Over one-third of all dishwashers, janitors, maids, and cooks are foreign born.”[6]

Four immigration bills are being debated.[7] All tighten border security and increase enforcement of immigration laws.[8] Only McCain-Kennedy (S.1033, H.R. 2330) attempts to balance economic contributions of and humanitarian concerns for undocumented workers with perceived national security and enforcement interests. It grants temporary work permits to undocumented workers; and after a six year wait, payment of a $2,000 fine, and acquiring “English language capability,”allows them to apply for green cards without having to return to their home countries.[9]

The Torah instructs: “The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”(Lev.19:33-34). Jesus teaches to welcome the stranger (cf. Matthew 25:25), for “what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me”(Matthew 25:40). The Qur’an says we should “serve God…and do good to…orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer that you meet, [and those who have nothing] (4:36)”[10]

Spiritual care providers need to understand the legal and human implications of immigration laws as they work with diverse populations.[11]

I welcome any comments you might want to submit in response to these articles.

[1] Reliable information on immigration issues, wording of pending legislation and involvement of religious groups is available at www.immigrationforum.org and www.justiceforimmigrants.org
[2] Los Angeles’Cardinal Roger Mahony said of H.R. 4437: “Anyone who does anything for someone here who doesn’t have documents would be a felon under this bill…and it targets everybody, churches included. So on its face value, it means that anyone coming for Communion or baptism or to be married, I should stop and ask to see their legal papers. That’s absurd, and we’re not going to do it –even if Congress says we have to. We’re not going to be immigration officers…the foolishness of this whole out-of-control thought process is just astounding.”The Tidings (online), “Church and Immigration: ‘Our role is spiritual and pastoral,’”R.W. Dellinger, February 17, 2006.
[3] No one has yet raised First Amendment [Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof] concerns regarding interference with religious belief and practice if clergy and other ministers are required to deny sacraments or services to undocumented faithful.
[4] The Colonies excluded “paupers and criminals,”categories preserved in future U.S. immigration laws. In 1875, the Supreme Court held immigration restrictions by states unconstitutional; immigration remains exclusively within federal jurisdiction. Length of residency requirements emerged in the late 18th Century but for the first 100 years, U.S. immigration was largely unrestricted. The racist Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 –not until 1943 could Chinese become U.S. citizens –ushered in an era of exclusionary laws. Legislation in 1891 required immigrants to pass a health examination, established the Bureau of Immigration, and continued the head tax imposed in 1882. The 1917 Immigration Act barred people unable to read: its goal was to restrict the massive influx of Eastern and Southern Europeans, largely Catholic and Jewish who seemed threatening to the Protestant majority; the Act also prohibited immigration of any Asians. 1924 legislation produced quota laws which increased illegal entry by barred Europeans. [One can’t help but draw parallels to today’s attitudes toward Muslim immigrants and the illegal border crossings of Mexicans.] As in 1924, quotas continue to reflect U.S. foreign policy rather than humanitarian needs. The ultimate tragedy of quotas was the denial of admission to thousands trying to flee Nazi Europe. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 formed the basis for present law which permits primarily employment and family-related immigration. Roger Daniels provides excellent background on American immigration policy since 1882 in Guarding the Golden Door, Hill and Wang, 2004.
[5] According to a 1997 study, immigrant workers deliver a net gain of $1 billion to $10 billion a year to the economy. James P. Smith and Barry Edmonson, editors, The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration, National Research Council (Washington: National Academy Press, 1997).
[6] The Department of Labor predicts a labor shortage in many unskilled job categories by 2008. see United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration & Refugee Services, “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
[7] (1) Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005 (S.1033, H.R. 2330) introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Ma.) and by Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-Az.), Jeff Flake (R-Az.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Il.); (2) Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act of 2005 (S.1438) introduced by Sen. John Kornyn (R-Tex.) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Az.); (3) Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, H.R. 4437 sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) passed by the House on December 16. (4) Specter Chairman’s Mark of the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006.”Draft circulated February 23 by Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) will likely serve as the blueprint for Congressional debate. “Attempting to reconcile Republican factions, it is being attacked by conservatives and immigration advocates alike.”(nytimes.com, February 25, 2006)
[8] No one denies the immigration system needs overhauling. “’The immigration system is broken on every level—on security, humanitarian, family, and economic levels,’says Rabbi David Elcott, inter religious director of the American Jewish Committee.”(“Faith Groups Press for Balanced Approach to Immigration,”The Christian Science Monitor, 02/02/06.) Legal immigrants may wait over 20 years for family reunification; businesses dependent on migrant labor struggle with complicated bureaucratic processes that do not guarantee legal workers when needed; thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans have died trying to cross the border illegally to fill jobs Americans don’t want.
[9] Over 100 religious groups and leaders signed the Interfaith Statement in Support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, October 14, 2005 which calls for a “safe and humane immigration system consistent with our values,”including bringing the 11 million undocumented workers into legal status, making family reunification quicker and setting humane border policies. Kennedy-McCain (S.1033) is the only bill which meets the requirements of the statement. It was recently endorsed by the Interfaith groups. The Interfaith statement is available at the web site for The Institute on Religion and Public Policy. Representative signers include: American Friends Service Committee, American Jewish Congress, American Society for Muslim Advancement, Church World Service, Episcopal Church USA, Islamic Circle of North America, Jesuit Conference, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Mennonite Central Committee, National Ministries of the American Baptist Church, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Union for Reform Judaism, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, World Relief, and Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church-USA.
      A coalition of evangelical groups is arguing against H.R. 4437 and seeking support from other evangelical organizations. Information is available from Rev. Sam Rodriguez, president of the Sacramento-based National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. World Relief of the National Association of Evangelicals, which includes 52 evangelical churches, is working with the Catholic Bishops to support immigration reform.
[10] Id. Interfaith Statement, p.1
[11] A sample letter as well as addresses for each senator is available at http://capwiz.com/aila2 should one wish to comment on the pending legislation. Snail mail delivery takes up to 3 weeks due to anthrax-security protocols.

CaseConference

We post an ethical or situational concern that has arisen in a facility where one of our readers works. It has no identifiers included. It gives you only the facts of the case. Then, you can respond to that concern. This is an ongoing dialogue, with comments added as they come in. In the following issue, assuming it has been resolved, we give you the outcome from the facility where the incident took place. Please send any cases that you would like considered for inclusion to: info@plainviews.org

We hope that this new addition will help to inform not only those who are dealing with the issue, but will enable all of our readers to learn from the experiences and perhaps mistakes of others.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to unanticipated continuing responses to both the case and the resolution of the case, added responses can be viewed in the archives. Click HERE.

CaseConference #5 resolution:

The chaplain tried to intervene and bring some calm to the explosive situation. When that did not work, security was called to ensure that the family members did not start throwing punches (one family member had already tried to land a punch and missed). Two of the more angry family members were taken out for some "fresh air." The chaplain, while initially concerned over her own safety, was able to find a calmness within that helped the other family members to calm down. The chaplain facilitated the conversation with the rest of the family. Once the remaining family members had made a decision to sign a DNR and discussed it with the attending doctor, the chaplain went in search of the two family members who had been removed by security. At the request of the family, the chaplain had been asked to relay the information to the two and to invite them to come back if they were prepared to accept what the balance of the family had decided. Upon hearing of the decision of the family, one of the two that had raised his fists started to cry. The chaplain was then able to help him begin to deal with the impending loss of his father.

When the incident was reviewed with the chaplain's supervisor, the supervisor was concerned for the safety of the chaplain. The supervisor suggesting that in the future, the chaplain should step back and not get so directly involved for fear of harm coming to the chaplain. The chaplain disagreed with the supervisor, feeling that the actions taken were appropriate.

CaseConference #5:

A patient, who had small cell lung cancer and was in the hospital for chemotherapy, coded and was in the Intensive Care Unit. The family, divided on the extent of care that their loved one should receive, got into a fight in the ICU waiting room. The Chaplain, who had been with the patient and family prior to the code, was present when the argument started. The Chaplain was aware that the family had disagreed from the beginning on how aggressive the care should be for the patient.

What is the Chaplain’s role in this situation?

Given the chaplain's presence with the family what (if any) might be an appropriate intervention with this family?

Please check below for comments made about the last CaseConference.

Send your comments about CaseConference to info@PlainViews.org.

Reviews

Sarah Masters reviews the film

Taize: That Little Springtime

Burgundy, France, is home to Taize, an international ecumenical community founded more than six decades ago. Martin Doblmeier, director of the acclaimed film Bonhoeffer, traveled to Taize to capture in this 30-minute documentary the contemplative life and universal message of Taize.

Doblmeier’s camera captures the spiritual sharing of this international French community, which emphasizes simplicity of living. The hundred brothers of Taize fulfill that way of life despite being surrounded by thousands of young adults from throughout the world who find their way to Taize each year in a pilgrimage of prayer and reflection.

Brother Roger, founder of the Taize community and winner of The Templeton Price and the Notre Dame Award for International Humanitarian Service, among others, created a community where “kindness of heart would be a matter of practical experience, and where love would be at the heart of all things.”His words are reflected in this lovely, contemplative film and provide a spiritual guide to chaplains ministering to people of different faiths.

Time: 26 Minutes
Producer/Director: Martin Doblmeier

If you are interested in purchasing this film, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Masterworks”on the homepage for more information. The cost of the film is $14.95/VHS.

Book Review

Rabbi Dr. David Zucker reviews

“Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity”

Chaplains, whether they serve in long term care, acute care, hospice, police, or the military know that they bring significant “added value”to their facilities or institutions. A major problem is that many chaplains lack the skills to articulate that fact. This publication, the Task Force Report titled “Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity,”(Catholic Health Initiatives, 2002) provides a practical template to allow chaplaincy to be evaluated and appreciated.

In a recent PlainViews issue (“Advocacy,”December 21, 2005, Vol. 2, No. 22), The Rev. Dr. Larry J. Austin wrote an article titled “On Losing Your Soul.”He noted that though patients often compliment us for “being there”at difficult times, that we as chaplains often deny that what we do is important, that we “discount our worth because our narratives do not have the weight of scientific research.”He added that often we ourselves “contribute to our own pain by the failure to recognize the worth of what we do, and our failure to confront those who discount the profession.”This, he concluded, can be soul-destroying for us.

This superb document published by the Catholic Health Initiatives in 2002,”addresses these concerns. There we read: One common complaint among chaplains is a widespread dissatisfaction “about the ways in which their performance and productivity [is . . .] measured and evaluated.”Chaplains know that they bring “added value”but due to the complexity of chaplaincy work, metrics simply based on volume of patient visits or clocked hours simply does not reflect the intricacy and subtleties of their ministry (p. 2).

Professor Kristen J. Leslie, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Yale University Divinity School, has noted that unlike physicians, Chaplains are trained in disciplines that rely on mystery, history, ambiguity, and metaphor. Their goal is healing through insight, reconciliation, and community. Stated succinctly, medical personnel attend to pain while pastoral caregivers respond to suffering. While the desired end is the same as that of medical professionals—health—the chaplain’s restorative and transformative approach is different.

To make matters worse, the intuitive and theological language of chaplaincy is not readily understood by those in other disciplines who are trained and reach conclusions based on the science of empirical evidence or behavioral measurement.

Realizing both the value of chaplaincy and the need to document it, Catholic Health Initiatives set up a study, which monitored and recorded data from more than 35,000 pastoral interactions of 56 chaplains at nine pilot sites.

They found that when “performance expectations (outcome measures) for chaplaincy services are made specific through a process of interview and dialogue . . . there is a surprising congruence among diverse constituencies (e.g., nurse managers, chaplain referral sources, the bereaved, administrators and chaplains themselves).”(p. 10)

Chaplains are available to meet others’needs, without an agenda of their own.
Chaplains provide comfort and support in a variety of circumstances.
Chaplains assist in practical details.
Chaplains participate in interdisciplinary case conferences.
Chaplains help coordinate a more holistic approach to care delivery.
Chaplains “walk the talk”as symbols of their organization’s identify. (p. 10-11)

This publication outlines the process through which Catholic Health Initiatives reached their conclusions, and offers clear recommendations how to document "Measures of Chaplain Performance and Productivity" in one’s institution. The fourteen appendices include the templates used, as well as sample instruments for Chaplain Self-Reports, and instruments for Spiritual Care Assessments, and some suggested resources for professional development.

Though developed by and a study of Catholic institutions, the learnings are widely applicable, irrespective of institutional religious orientation, or lack thereof.

To obtain your FREE copy of this report, contact: Alan E. Bowman, BCC, Director, Spiritual Development, Catholic Health Initiatives, 1999 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202, (303-383-2633; alanbowman@catholichealth.net). Please refer to this review in PlainViews.

Do you have thoughts about these reviews you’d like to share with your colleagues? Send an e-mail to info@PlainViews.org