Evaluation of a Chaplain Residency Program and Its Partnership with an In-Patient Palliative Care Team

Abstract

In 2009 a Consensus Conference of experts in the field of spiritual care and palliative care recommended the inclusion of Board-certified professional chaplains with at least 1,600 hours of clinical pastoral education as members of palliative care teams. This study evaluates a clinical pastoral education residency program's effectiveness in preparing persons to provide spiritual care for those with serious illness and in increasing the palliative care team members' understanding of the chaplain as part of the palliative care team. Results showed chaplain residents felt the program prepared them to provide care for those with serious illness. It also showed that chaplain residents and palliative care team members view spirituality as an integral part of palliative care and see the chaplain as the team member to lead that effort. Suggested program improvements include longer palliative care orientation period, more shadowing with palliative care team members, and improved communication between palliative care and the chaplain residents.

What Do Chaplains Do: The Views of Palliative Care Physicians, Nurses, and Social Workers

“…Key activities described by our participants are broadly similar to the findings of prior studies, 21 -25 as well as to a small body of evidence of key chaplain activities in palliative care 29 -32 and to chaplain care in general. 33 Based on this broad similarity, the participants’ self-rating of understanding what chaplains do moderately well or very well seems appropriate.…”

“…Chaplains also need to accept that an integral part of their job is educating their health-care colleagues about what they do and how they contribute to good outcomes for patients, families, and the team. Effective ways to educate colleagues include participating in trans- or interdisciplinary palliative care curriculums, 35,36 by pairing medical residents with chaplain interns 37 or inviting medical residents to shadow chaplains, 25,38 by quality documentation of patient encounters in the patient’s record, and through daily presence in team meetings. 25 Sharing case studies of chaplain care can also be effective.…”

“…Effective ways to educate colleagues include participating in trans- or interdisciplinary palliative care curriculums, 35,36 by pairing medical residents with chaplain interns 37 or inviting medical residents to shadow chaplains, 25,38 by quality documentation of patient encounters in the patient’s record, and through daily presence in team meetings. 25 Sharing case studies of chaplain care can also be effective. 32,39 –41 Furthermore, chaplains need to be more articulate about the work that they do.…”

“…Social workers were included in one small study of the palliative care teams’ understanding of what chaplains do. 25 The team members named support with spiritual/religious coping, holistic care, addressing spiritual needs, assisting in advance care planning, support for families and leading family meetings, and support for the team as main activities of the chaplain.…”

Chaplain Development in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Healthcare Settings in England: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Research on CPE is characterised by sporadic efforts and a limited focus on measuring specific changes associated with CPE [14][15][16]. However, previous research generally showed positive effects of CPE on personal, professional, pastoral, and competency development for spiritual care [17][18][19][20][21], and most students valued the distinct learning methods of CPE [21,22]. Additionally, research on the relationship between CPE learning outcomes and professional chaplain competencies is scarce [14,15].…”