Working with a chaplain 1 of 2

How the hell do I work
with a chaplain?
Laura Darling, Director of Spiritual Care
Episcopal Senior Communities
Kevin Philips, Chaplain
Canterbury Woods, ESC
Norma Brambilla, Executive Director
Canterbury Woods, ESC
Introductions
Overview
• What is a chaplain and what do they do?
▫ Tension points
• What skills should a chaplain have?
• How do I evaluate a chaplain’s performance?
▫ Red flags
• Q&A
What is spirituality?
Spirituality is “the aspect of humanity that refers
to the way individuals seek and express meaning
and purpose and the way they experience their
connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to
nature, and/or to the significant or sacred.”
Clinical Practice Guidelines
For Quality Palliative Care
Where do chaplains come from?
• Faith tradition: Religious background,
denomination
• CPE: Clinical Pastoral Education
• Education: Ordination track vs. Academic track
• Credentials: What to look for
What do chaplains do?
• Provide spiritual care
▫ What does “spiritual
care” mean?
▫ What are spiritual
needs?
▫ What is spiritual
pain?
• Pastoral presence
▫ What does
“pastoral” mean?
▫ What is “pastoral
care”?
What do chaplains do?
• Part of the Care Team
▫ How do we see the whole person, body, mind, and
spirit?
• Provide opportunities for worship
▫ How do we connect with things beyond ourselves?
• Provide programs
▫ Where can we ask large questions?
• Administration
▫ Communicate, communicate, communicate
Tension points
• Financial
▫ Differing perspectives
• Trust
▫ Conflicting agendas
• Prophetic vs. pastoral
▫ Whose needs?
• Temporal vs. spiritual
• Sacred space & objects
The care and feeding of your chaplain
• What is energizing
• What is deflating
What skills should a chaplain have?
• Listening
• High quality, empathetic responses
• Authenticity
What skills should chaplains have?
• Knowledge about a range of faith traditions
(including their own)
• Ability to adapt to new situations & information
What to look for when hiring
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***CPE experience***
Credentials
Beyond religion
Collaboration
Check references!
How do I evaluate a chaplain?
• What is the quality of the care?
• Can you still apply objective measures?
Evaluating quality
• e.g. Pastoral Care
▫ Breadth of connections with residents and staff
▫ Availability
▫ Timely and appropriate responses by email,
phone, or in person
▫ Warmth, respect, openness
▫ Appropriate confidentiality
What can you evaluate?
• Part of the Care Team
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Attend meetings regularly, on time, prepared
Documentation of care
Collaboration with care team: provides insights
HIPAA compliance
What can you evaluate?
• Provide opportunities for worship
▫ Respect for different beliefs and practices – not
proselytizing
▫ Adapt for needs of community
▫ Recruit and supervise outside service providers
appropriately
• Provide programs
▫ For range of residents from different backgrounds
▫ For staff: support, information, and training
▫ In collaboration with activities director
What can you evaluate?
• Administration
▫ Communicating with you
▫ Professional development
▫ Appropriate participation in meetings and
committees
Red flags
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Signs of burn-out
Hiding behind administration
The usual signs
Scope creep
Boundary issues
Disconnect from organization
Beware of projection
You know more than you think
• The basics
▫ Is the chaplain responsive? Appropriate?
Collaborative? Helpful?
▫ Does the chaplain support the whole community?
• 360 review
▫ Feedback from others
• Talk with your colleagues
• Meet with your chaplain
There are resources to help you
• ACPE
▫ www.acpe.edu/
• Association of Professional Chaplains
▫ www.professionalchaplains.org
 Standards of Practice for Professional Chaplains in Long
Term Care
 Common Code of Ethics
• Pacific Institute for Clinical Pastoral Training
▫ http://www.acpe.edu/
• Health Care Chaplaincy Network
▫ www.healthcarechaplaincy.org
Q&A