Transcript Mining Pastoral Resources

Encounters that Enrich
A Volunteer Pastoral Care Program
with
Professional Integrity
Presenter:
Al Henager, BCC, BCCC
Staff Chaplain &
Coordinator of Palliative Care
University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences
Little Rock, Arkansas
© Copyright 2005 Al Henager
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Workshop Description
• With financial and personnel resources shrinking
for healthcare chaplaincy, good stewardship
demands the creative use of community pastoral
care resources. This workshop offers a program
for chaplain departments in certain settings to use
pastoral care volunteers while still maintaining
professional standards and integrity. A paradigm
is presented for Board Certified Chaplains to be
the mentor and supervisor of pastoral care
volunteers.
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Workshop Goals
• Become aware of the scope of pastoral resources
available in your community for the welfare of
patients.
• Be able to articulate the appropriate times to train,
supervise, and utilize pastoral care volunteers.
• Gain tools for recruiting, training, and supervising
pastoral care volunteers in appropriate healthcare
settings.
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Healthcare in a Community Setting
Integrated
vs.
• Chaplain’s role:
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Facilitator of spiritual care
Consultant
Specialized colleague
Integrator of resources
• Church seen as:
– Another valuable spiritual
resource
– Partner in wholeness
– Staff as colleagues
– Members as support system
Isolated
• Chaplain seen as:
– The sole expert
– “The” source of spiritual care
– Interacting almost
exclusively with hospital
professional
• Outside church staff:
– A limited resource
– Mostly ignored
– Otherwise tolerated
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A Model of Community Oriented
Chaplaincy
• Collegial
– Chaplain: Specialist in Pastoral Care in Health
– Pastor: Generalist in Ministry
• Ecumenical
– An understanding of various faith traditions
• Strengths as value to offer
• Weaknesses as opportunities for growth
• Professional
– Education/Training for Specialization
– Continuing Ministry Development/Growth
– Appropriate Supervision & Accountability
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A Model of Community Oriented
Chaplaincy
• Pastoral Identity
– First & foremost, chaplains are pastors/clergy
• Professional Identity
– Chaplains are healthcare professionals
– Secondary to pastoral identity
• Personal Identity
– Comfortable/confident in who you are
– Integration of all aspects of self
(Basic C.P.E.)
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Types of Volunteer Programs
• Why Use Community Volunteers?
– Churches, their members, & ministers offer a
wealth of spiritual resources.
– Volunteers know the community.
– It helps integrate the community with the
healthcare institution.
– It is good stewardship.
– Hospital patients can benefit from a variety of
spiritual support resources.
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Types of Volunteer Programs
Two Basic Types
• Lay people as
volunteer pastoral
caregivers
• Clergy as
volunteer pastoral
caregivers
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Lay Volunteers
• Eucharistic Ministers
• Pastoral Visitors (Chaplain’s Assistant)
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Hospitality visits
Literature distribution
Basic initial spiritual “screenings”
Waiting room
• Office/Clerical Helpers
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Lay Volunteers
• Basic initial spiritual “screenings”
– Do you have a church or faith community you are a part of?
• (If “yes) Do they know you are here?
• (If “no”) Would you like for us to notify them for you?
– How much comfort, strength, and support would you say you get
from your personal beliefs and values to help cope with your
illness? Enough? Less than enough? None at all?
– Do you feel that it would be helpful to explore how your personal
beliefs and values can help you better cope with your illness?
• Triggers for referral to the chaplain
– If “Less than enough” or “None at all.”
– If “yes” to that last question.”
– If other issues come up in the hospitality visit.
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Clergy Volunteers
• Various names/titles can be used
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–
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Volunteer Pastoral Associates
Volunteer Chaplain Associates
Volunteer Assistant Chaplains
The “Shepherd’s Staff”
“A rose by any other name . . .”
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Clergy Volunteers
• The make up
– Professional members of the community
• Who volunteer their time;
• Who have been screened, interviewed, and accepted
into the program
• Who have undergone special training in hospital
pastoral care
• Who provide a professional pastoral service to the
hospital, etc.
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Clergy Volunteers
• The qualifications
– Ordained minister by a recognized faith group
– College or seminary or CPE or meets own faith
groups education requirements
– Have blessing and approval of faith group or
congregation
– Willingness to volunteer
– Completes initial training
– Attends supervisory meetings
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Clergy Volunteers
• The role (in a typical hospital)
– To make rounds at the hospital every day
• Visit nursing stations
• Visit Emergency Room
• Visit patients for new admits/pre-surgery, etc.
– To be “on-call” for crises
• Codes
• Deaths
• Other emergencies
– To make referrals to the Chaplain
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Volunteers – Scope of Practice
Level Scope of Service/Responsibility
Type of Caregiver
Level of Skill Set
Highest Level
Supervise Lay & Clergy Volunteers
Board Certified Chaplain
Highest Level
Management skills
Pastoral supervision Skills
See APC/NACC/CPSP standards
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See APC/NACC/CPSP standards
Moderate Level
Same as Basic
Basic crisis intervention
Volunteer Clergy
Moderate Level
Same as basic
Know procedures
Basic crisis management skills
Basic Level
Hospitality visits
Spiritual screening (3 questions)
Limited ministry of presence
Lay Volunteers
Basic Level
Active listening
Make referrals
Knowing when to speak
Spiritual Assessment
In depth spiritual care
Inter- disciplinary interventions
Ethics consultation
Advance directives intervention
Therapeutic intervention
In depth crisis intervention
Etc. See APC/NACC/CPSP standards
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The Most Appropriate Settings
• The small town hospital
• The single hospital city
– Community ownership & loyalty to hospital
– Non-competitive healthcare environment
• Problematic for the multi-hospital
metropolitan area
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Divided institutional loyalty
Competitive nature
Not as much community ownership
Lay volunteers a may be an easier possibility
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Standards for Volunteers
• Standards for lay volunteers
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Character
Congregational/faith group affiliation
References
Endorsement/commissioning
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Standards for Volunteers
• Standards for clergy volunteers
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Character
Ordination/licensing
Education/training
Endorsements/commissioning/blessing
Faith group affiliation
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Standards for Volunteers
• Supervision Standards
• Training
• Continuing education
• By Certified Chaplain
– By nationally recognized chaplain certifying body
– JCAHO Standard for “Qualified Chaplain” (old)
Chaplain, qualified: An individual who is certified and is in
good standing with a pastoral care cognate group recognized
by COMISS/JCAPS [Commission On Ministries in Specialized
Settings/Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Pastoral
Services] or who is in good standing with such a group and
has the documented equivalent in education, training and
experience with evidence of relevant continuing education.
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Recruitment
• Personal recruiting
– Building pastoral relationships
– Professional ministerial organizations
• Mass recruiting
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Recruitment dinner
Recruitment educational event
Mass mailing letter
Speaking in congregations
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Recruitment
• Incentives (what will they get out of it)
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Volunteer recognition – like all volunteers get
Holiday turkey
Training
Continuing education
Parking
Health club membership
Hospital discounts
Appreciation dinner
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Policies & Procedures
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Policy spelling out the vision of the program
Policy on scope and plan of care
Policy on organization
Policy on requirements and expectations
Policy on not proselytizing
Procedure on daily visits/rounds
Procedures on response to emergencies (codes/death/etc.)
Policy and procedure on documentation
Policy and procedure for confidentiality/HIPAA
• Policy and procedure for response to disasters
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Training
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Program overview and commitment
Hospital orientation & health screenings
Introduction to pastoral care and pastoral identity
Establishing the helping relationship
Effective active listening skills
Creating understanding
Ministering in crisis and grief situations
Ministering to the confused and disoriented
Tour
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Training - continued
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Ministering to the elderly
Understanding and using pastoral assessment
Suicide
Ministering to children in death and dying
Overview and practice in implementing policies
and procedures
• Mentoring & Supervision
– Ongoing
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Presuppositions
• That we are in the field of “Pastoral Care”
• That we are chaplains
• That volunteers can be helpful to
professional chaplains
• That volunteers are not a threat to
professional chaplains – if done right
• That the professional, certified chaplain is
basically capable of recruiting, training, and
supervising volunteer chaplains
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Ground Rules
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Not for debating pros & cons of volunteers
Not for debating “pastoral” vs. “spiritual”
Not for debating “religious” vs. “spiritual”
Nor for debating lay vs. clergy
Not for debating organizations
Not for quibbling of finer points of policy
Respect other speaker
Speak one at a time
Ask questions
Use “I” statements
Do not change the contents of the Power Point
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Contact Information
For further information, resources, or dialogue,
contact:
© Copyright 2005 Al Henager.
You are free to use this for your ministry if you give proper credit.
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