Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator

Overview:
Our team members are the heart of what makes us better.

 

At Hackensack Meridian Health we help our patients live better, healthier lives — and we help one another to succeed. With a culture rooted in connection and collaboration, our employees are team members. Here, competitive benefits are just the beginning. It’s also about how we support one another and how we show up for our community.

 

Together, we keep getting better - advancing our mission to transform healthcare and serve as a leader of positive change.

 

The Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator provides compassionate pastoral ministry to all patients, their family, loved ones, and team members. The Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator supports patients and their families in times of crisis, anxiety, or sorrow in grief and suffering. The Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator facilitates communication with caregivers outside the healthcare team; serves as a subject matter expert in pastoral care matters and collaborates with community clergy to provide ongoing spiritual support. The Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator maintains a working knowledge of customs and practices from a diversity of world religions and faith practices and works to assure that patients and family members are respected in their individual beliefs, customs, traditions and practices. The Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator serves as a Supervisor or Supervisor-In-Training (SIT) in the organization's Clinical Pastoral Education Program and is responsible for direct supervision of chaplain interns at site hospitals. The Supervisor or Supervisor-In-Training is responsible for orientation, onboarding, matriculation, evaluations, and out-briefings in the CPE training curriculum.

Responsibilities:
A day in the life of a Clinical Chaplain and Pastoral Care Educator at Hackensack Meridian Health includes:

 

Supports spiritual and emotional needs based on initial and ongoing spiritual assessments and document actions taken and plan of care in the patient's medical record.

Develops patient spiritual care plans and collaborates with the care team by notating in the patient's chart. Conducts in-services for medical team members on issues relating to assessing and meeting spiritual care needs.

Acts as a liaison between family and clinical team during crisis by supporting and comforting family members.

Provides intensive and extensive pastoral care and spiritual counseling to patients, families and team members during and after critical events.

Collaborates with the Palliative Care Team and attends palliative care team meetings to provide optimal care and support during each phase of the patient's end of life process.

Conducts patient rounds to assess and support spiritual needs of patients and collaborates with the care team on patient care planning.

Visits patients and families who request pastoral care services.

Participates in family conferences to support the patient, family, physicians and team members.

Coordinates the use of local clergy and ministers from various faiths and denominations when appropriate.

Provides the theological framework to assure spiritual care can be delivered through the coordinated efforts of the volunteer clergy network.

Collaborates with volunteer service leaders on screening and training pastoral care volunteers.

Participates in committee meetings to offer expertise, guidance and education in pastoral care matters concerning religion, culture and theology.

Initiates and or leads team in emotional reflection at interdisciplinary team meetings.

Provides liturgical/sacramental ministry of prayer, communion, emergency baptisms, memorial services, hospital celebrations, ceremonies and services.

Proactively coordinate and lead didactics or educational training relating to pastoral care for all patient care teams.

Make full use of one's own religious heritage, theological understanding, and knowledge of the behavioral sciences in pastoral ministry to persons and groups.

Follows the highest standards of ethical conduct as outlined by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators.

Maintains medical records, reports and data as necessary for regulatory reporting and continuous quality improvement.

Meets all competency standards and requirements of the accreditation agency (CPSP, ACPE, SCA , etc.) and provides direct supervision of chaplain interns enrolled in the organization's CPE Program. This includes case study reviews, small group relations, didactics, group supervision and individual supervision.

Under the leadership of the Director, Clinical Pastoral Care and Education, participates in the ongoing development, operations and review of the CPE Program curriculum.

Actively recruits chaplain interns and identifies recruitment opportunities for the CPE Program.

Provides feedback and assessments of chaplain interns performance, learning and compliance with policies and standards.

May be required to work weekends or as needed and carry a beeper or similar communication device.

Identifies the needs of the patient population served and modifies and delivers care that is specific to those needs (i.e., age, culture, language, hearing and/or visually impaired, etc.). This process includes communicating with the patient, spouse, parent, and/or primary caregiver(s) at their level (developmental/age, educational, literacy, etc.).

Adheres to the standards identified in the Medical Center's Organizational Competencies.

Adheres to standards of competency in accordance with best practices of accrediting agencies (i.e., ACPE, CPSP, NACC) and professional certification standards.

Qualifications:
Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

Graduate degree (MA, MDiv) from an accredited academic institution is required to be Board Certified Clinical Chaplain.

Board Certification as a Clinical Chaplain is required in order to be accepted into a Supervisor-in-Training program.

Must gain admission and enrollment into an accredited training program supervised by a Training Supervisor or Diplomat.

Demonstrate satisfactory progression in the training program as documented in the Training Supervisor¿s assessment.

Demonstrate proof of three years previous experience in pastoral ministry as Lead Pastor or Assisting Minister.

Demonstrate proof of two years experience working in a clinical environment with patients and families facing life-threatening injury or illness.

Demonstrate proof of ecclesiastical endorsement as a pastoral leader of one's religious denomination.

Demonstrate proof of professional development or continuing education credits in the field of pastoral ministry, counseling or community issues.

Demonstrate computer knowledge for purposes of medical records documentation, continuing education and public presentation.

Education, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Preferred:

Doctorate degree or matriculating in a graduate degree program from an accredited academic institution, seminary or school of theology.

Minimum of five years experience with formal education in pastoral counseling.

Licenses and Certifications Required:

Clinical Chaplain.

If you feel that the above description speaks directly to your strengths and capabilities, then please apply today    

 

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