This You MUST Know as Professional Chaplain

This You MUST Know as Professional Chaplain

Although we are not medical professionals or not all chaplains are in the health care system – you need to know these terminologies in case you become health care chaplain.

1.     Isolation: a situation of been alone; a state of separated from others and group; an act of disconnection, detachment, segregation, loneliness and solitude.

Isolated persons are usually prevented from being visited by family members, loved ones and friends. Only professionals who offer them care are allowed to reach out to them with PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).

2.     Quarantine: Isolated for health reasons; enforced isolation of people suffering from contagious diseases in order to prevent the spread; a placement into compulsory isolation for medical reasons.

3.     ICU: Intensive care unit – a hospital unit, started to provide intensive care to patients or people whose stability health wise is in danger, only health care professionals are allowed in this setting

How can Chaplains provide services to these set of people?

Isolated people: Chaplains in the health care system or hospitals, if considered essential workers by the management will be provided with PPE, and they will be allowed to minister to the patients in ISO. They will start with offering of the ministry of presence.

However, where the hospital management does not consider chaplains to be essential workers , ministry of presence is ruled off, but chaplains will only be able to offer services digital means such as online services (tele-chaplaincy services, phone calls, video calls etc).

ICU: Because of the seriousness and the unstable conditions of patients in ICU, only specialized health care professionals are allowed into this special unit of the hospital. However, when the health conditions of patients in ICU becomes stable and are moved out of the ICU to the wards, chaplains may be allowed to reach out to them with their services. Our preparedness to get trained in the right direction will offer us the opportunity to serve better. Chaplaincy practice is not an imagination or guess work.

When Death occurs: Beloved chaplains, when death occurs, for it sometimes does; patient’s parish priest, pastor or Imam are unable to reach their parishoners who are in isolation for burial rights as hospital management have instruction from government and authorities in charge of health not to release such bodies for burial to the family members to prevent contagious disease from spreading to others.

However, if there are staff chaplains amongst the health care team or in the hospital or working NCDC, they may be able to arrange with the religious cleric of the patient to offer final burial rights via digital means.

Hospital management, especially NCDC in pandemic situations are vested with the responsibility of disposing the deceased who in ISO center during treatment for control of the pandemic or epidemic.

Proper training and education is unavoidable as we may be asking for what does not obtain.

Mental Health Problems: There are various mental health problems quarantined people or ISO-patients experience such as stress, distress, frustration, hopelessness, depression, suicidal thoughts and action, loneliness, separation, segregation, stigmatization, boredom etc.

Chaplains who have been trained in mental health chaplaincy practice are the most suitable to offer the needed care to these people suffering from mental health problems using psychotherapy, psycho-spirituotherapy, spirituotherapy etc. via digital means as physical presence  seem difficult in pandemic situations.

Various programmes may be designed for them by chaplains individually and collectively to meet their needs and reduce their pains and problems.

I wish to emphasis here again the importance of proper and specialized training, which happens to be the borderline factor in effective chaplaincy and spiritual care service delivery.

We must be confident that we know what to do before asking to be given responsibility by the government. Chaplaincy practice is serious business.

Chap. Prof. David-Mike JP, AP, CPC.

Certified Chaplaincy Educator