Study of Shadowing Experiences among Chaplains in the Coleman Palliative Medicine Fellowship.

While shadowing is a relatively common practice in the education of many health professionals, it is not widely used in chaplaincy education. Findings from our qualitative study of 12 chaplains who participated in the Coleman Palliative Medicine Training Program suggest it may offer benefits for practicing chaplains. In interviews with seven fellows who shadowed more experienced palliative care (PC) chaplains and the five mentors who were shadowed at their work settings, participants reported opportunities for mutual learning, self-reflection, and collegiality. Fellows observed how members of a PC team collaborate and contribute equally to the care of patients. Mentors found shadowing was a rare opportunity to share their chaplaincy practice with colleagues. It helped them to appreciate different aspects of their work settings and to distinguish between PC and generalist chaplaincy. We discuss the challenges participants experienced while shadowing and offer recommendations for incorporating the practice more widely into chaplaincy education.

Development of the PC-7, a Quantifiable Assessment of Spiritual Concerns of Patients Receiving Palliative Care Near the End of Life.

Background: Attending to the religious/spiritual (R/S) concerns of patients is a core component of palliative care. A primary responsibility of the chaplain is to conduct a thorough assessment of palliative care patients' R/S needs and resources. Problems with current approaches to spiritual assessment in all clinical contexts, including palliative care, include limited evidence for their validity, reliability, or clinical usefulness; narrative content; and lack of clinical specificity. Objectives: The aim of our work was to develop an evidence-based, quantifiable model for the assessment of unmet spiritual concerns of palliative care patients near the end of life. Design: The PC-7 model was developed by a team of chaplains working in palliative care. Phase 1 used literature in the field and the chaplains' clinical practice to identify key concerns in the spiritual care of palliative care patients. Phase 2 focused on developing indicators of those concerns and reliability in the chaplains' rating of them. Results: Key concerns in the model include the following. Need for meaning in the face of suffering; need for integrity, a legacy; concerns about relationships; concern or fear about dying or death; issues related to treatment decision making; R/S struggle; and other concerns. An approach to scoring the patients' degree of unmet spiritual concerns was adapted from the literature. Assessing cases from the chaplains' practice led to high levels of agreement (reliability). Conclusion: Using the PC-7 model, chaplains can describe and quantify the key spiritual concerns of palliative care patients. Further research is needed to test its validity, reliability, and clinical usefulness.

Interprofessional Models for Shared Decision Making: The Role of the Health Care Chaplain.

Shared decision making (SDM) is a central component of patient-centered care; however, a minimal amount is known about what health care chaplains contribute to this process. Data from 463 full-time chaplains practicing in the United States collected by an online survey was analyzed using SPSS 26 for bivariate and multivariate logistical regressions to identify variables impacting chaplain integration into SDM. Coding of free text responses yielded multiple domains for chaplain contributions and barriers. Thirty-eight percent of chaplains reported being often or frequently integrated into health care team discussions regarding medical decisions, with years of professional experience, time spent supporting the emotional processing of medical decisions, and being well-prepared as the strongest predictors for high integration. Qualitative analysis yielded a multifaceted picture that includes chaplain attention to the impact religion has on decision making, a focus on the patient story, and chaplains as mediators between patients, families, and the health care team. The full integration of chaplains into SDM will require education of the interdisciplinary team regarding the scope of chaplain knowledge and skills, as well as organizational level changes in chaplain to patient ratios and coverage models. In this era of increased fragmentation of health care provision and advancing complexity of medical decision making, models of Interprofessional Shared Decision Making (IP-SDM) such as the one proposed here that appreciate the specialized knowledge and skills of each member of the health care team hold promise for enhancing patient-centered care.

La mejora de la calidad de los cuidados espirituales como una dimensión de los cuidados paliativos: el informe de la Conferencia de Consenso / Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the Consensus Conference

Los días 17 y 18 de febrero de 2009, en Pasadena (California, Estados unidos), se celebró una Conferencia de Consenso patrocinada por la Fundación Archstone de Long Beach (California). La conferencia se basó en el convencimiento de que el cuidado espiritual es un componente fundamental de los cuidados paliativos. Este documento, así como las recomendaciones que incluye de la conferencia, se basa en documentación previa, las directrices del Proyecto Nacional de Consenso, la Guía de Buenas Prácticas del Foro Nacional de Calidad y en presentaciones de la propia conferencia (AU)

A Consensus Conference sponsored by the Archstone Foundation of Long Beach, California, was held February 17-18, 2009, in Pasadena, California. The conference was based on the belief that spiritual care is a fundamental component of quality palliative care. This document and the conference recommendations it includes builds upon prior literature, the National Consensus Project Guidelines, and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices and Conference proceedings (AU)

2009 Spiritual Care Collaborative survey results on continuing education.

Continuing education for chaplains, pastoral counselors and clinical pastoral educators is important for maintaining and advancing professional competency. Pastoral professionals who visited the Spiritual Care Collaborative (SCC) website to register for a conference were asked to complete a questionnaire on continuing education. Results of the survey show that continuing education, both in-person and through electronic means, were clearly ranked as the most important activities the SCC partner organizations could provide in the future. Additionally, continuing education preferences vary depending upon constituent groups. These findings have implications for the design of future educational programs.

Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the Consensus Conference.

A Consensus Conference sponsored by the Archstone Foundation of Long Beach, California, was held February 17-18, 2009, in Pasadena, California. The Conference was based on the belief that spiritual care is a fundamental component of quality palliative care. This document and the conference recommendations it includes builds upon prior literature, the National Consensus Project Guidelines, and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices and Conference proceedings.