Le Bonheur Children's Hospital

Spirituality simply refers to how we find and make meaning in life in the essence of our humanity. Spirituality is at the center of everything we do, but it 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 the core of spirituality, where we root our lives in our beliefs, practices, and values to create meaning.

Spiritual care is a spiritual practice offered in many healthcare settings to support those coping with the complexities of life and health. In a healthcare setting, spiritual care is essential to 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 the 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 family's 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 have 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. The chaplain offers hope, comfort, support, connection, and compassion in such times.

Most chaplain's follow Fowler's Stages of Development to provide spiritual care for adult and pediatric patients. This is important because children are not small adults. Spiritual care from birth through the 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 to become volunteer chaplains. Since unique and spiritual assessments are performed, this structure upholds the competencies of professional chaplaincy 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, a chaplain's work is authenticated in the electronic medical record, where all other disciplines document care.