Associate Chaplain, Per Diem

Valley Health System•Winchester, VA

23h

About The Position

The Associate Chaplain is a member of Valley Health System’s Chaplaincy Services team and supports clinical chaplaincy care. The role provides spiritual care to patients, families, and staff coping with trauma, crisis, death, and other spiritual or emotional concerns. Work may include evening or night call and scheduled weekday and weekend hours. The Associate Chaplain assesses spiritual and religious needs, documents assessments and plans of care, contributes to continuity of care, and collaborates with chaplains and interdisciplinary care teams. The position also provides staff support, participates in peer support during critical incidents and organization observances, and follows professional ethical standards. The chaplain maintains current knowledge and practice through professional development and 10–15 hours of chaplaincy-related continuing education annually.

Requirements

Significant practical work history and demonstrated effectiveness as a chaplain or counselor.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Excellent documentation skills.
Thorough understanding of the spiritual needs of patients and families from young children through older adults, including in high-stress, critical, traumatic illness and injury, death, and bereavement situations.
Thorough knowledge of services available from the interdisciplinary team and community.
Thorough knowledge and understanding of cultural and spiritual or religious diversity.
Familiarity with published research findings that inform clinical practice, demonstrated through reading professional journals and other materials.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in divinity, theology, counseling, or another relevant discipline.
Completion of at least one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), or equivalent clinical experience or education.
Experience in a clinical setting.
Board Certification with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC).

Responsibilities

Gather and evaluate relevant information about patients’ situations and biopsychosocial, spiritual, and religious health using appropriate, systematic assessment techniques.
Prioritize data collection according to the patient’s condition and anticipated needs, with the patient’s assent.
Document assessments, relevant data, and plans of care in the medical record.
Contribute to established plans of care to promote patient well-being and continuity of care, and assist full-time and part-time chaplains as appropriate.
Identify changes in outcomes, interventions, and plans in light of the patient’s values, beliefs, practices, ethical considerations, environment, and situation.
Collaborate with chaplains and interdisciplinary care team members to implement plans of care while keeping the patient’s wishes and wholeness primary.
Respond promptly to referrals, consults, pages, and phone messages while on duty.
Educate staff about the role of chaplaincy care.
Follow the Association of Professional Chaplains’ Common Code of Ethics, maintain professional boundaries, and protect confidential relationships.
Respect and support patients’ and families’ cultural and spiritual or religious values, needs, and boundaries through culturally competent, patient-centered care.
Provide timely, sensitive, spiritually and religiously inclusive, non-coercive support to staff, including supportive conversations and peer support during critical incidents.
Assist chaplains in providing care consistent with the organization’s values and mission, and participate in or help lead spiritually based rituals and community observances.
Practice evidence-based care, evaluate relevant research and new practices, and incorporate useful knowledge into clinical practice.
Maintain professional development and current knowledge of chaplaincy theory and practice, and complete 10–15 chaplaincy-related continuing education hours annually.