Having worked at some of the hospitals in Los Angeles as a teacher for children who needed hospital care, I came across dogs who were there to make the children’s stay more acceptable. I also came across spiritual care.
Many families who have patients at the various hospitals find a need for spiritual care. They need to talk to someone who can raise their morale. Being in a hospital is not only a physical experience, but a psychological one also. Children, as well as their parents, have the need to talk about their feelings to someone.
Chaplains, who serve as members of the hospital healthcare team, have to be professionally certified. At UCLA, where I have worked, I learned that chaplain interns and chaplain residents are enrolled in clinical pastoral education. This is a requirement before they can go out and offer spiritual care to the patients.
The chaplains’ job, as well as other spiritual leaders who visit hospitals, are there to listen to patients’ worries about their health. Just as a psychologist listens to their patients’ concerns and worries, a chaplain does this also, only in a different atmosphere. These chaplains are there to make patients feel more comfortable psychologically. Children, especially, need this type of help if this is their first experience in a hospital as a patient. Parents also need this type of strength that pastors can give.
There are other reasons why patients and close relatives seek chaplains and other religious leaders. They begin to question their faith. They question why did something like this happen to them or a family member.
People who are reading this article, may wonder how are chaplains made available to patients and families. Nurses are told to ask within 24 hours of a patient’s admission, if they would like a visit from a hospital chaplain, and if so, what faith would they prefer. When my husband, who is Jewish, was at the St. Joseph’s Hospital because he had pneumonia, he was told that they only had Catholic chaplains. He told them he didn’t mind having a Catholic chaplain.
Unfortunately, there are some misconceptions as to what hospital chaplains do. Some people feel that they are there to recruit or proselytize. There are others, who feel that chaplains come to hospitals when someone is dying. Yes, sometimes they are called in when this happens, but that is not the main reason why they come to hospitals such as UCLA and Children’s Hospital. I was also told that proselytizing is against hospitals’ code of ethics.