The Evolution of Spiritual Care and Healthcare Chaplaincy in Scotland

Abstract This final contribution draws together the various lines of discussion. It outlines the main arguments as well as the points of convergence between transnational developments. Taking up the introductory chapters, the reasons for the rapid development of chaplaincy documentation in the last two decades are examined. The rise of charting spiritual care is understood as an aspect of the ongoing digitalization of society and healthcare. At least three further drivers are clearly identifiable: the emergence of a new paradigm of healthcare chaplaincy, the development of interprofessional spiritual care, and remarkable changes in Western societies concerning the role of religion and spirituality in public spaces. In current discussions about recording spiritual care in EMRs, there is a growing convergence on at least four points. First, used as a tool for planning, coordination, and self-evaluation, digital charting can benefit the work of chaplains. Second, it can also have undesired side effects. Third, any future healthcare chaplaincy will have to be a part of the evolving process of digital recording. Fourth, the ongoing change in healthcare and society forces chaplains to become clearer about its nature and role. In sum, the task of charting spiritual care into EMRs might be seen as a bureaucratic burden. However, with its questions of the “who,” the “what,” and the “how,” it touches the heart of chaplaincy as a spiritual profession in healthcare. The paper concludes with an outline of a possible future for the practice of charting spiritual care.

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George Fitchett and Steve Nolan, eds, Spiritual Care in Practice: Case Studies in Healthcare Chaplaincy. London and Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2015, 318 pp. (Pbk). ISBN: 978-1-84905-976-3, eISBN: 978-0-85700-87-3, £18.99.

Health and Social Care Chaplaincy ◽

10.1558/hscc.31319 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 312-314

Author(s):

Julian Perkins

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Spiritual Care ◽

Healthcare Chaplaincy

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The Evolution of Spiritual Care in the NCCN Distress Management Guidelines

Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network ◽

10.6004/jnccn.2019.7352 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 1257-1261 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

George Handzo ◽

Jill M. Bowden ◽

Stephen King

Keyword(s):

Spiritual Care ◽

Improve Patient Care ◽

Cancer Center ◽

Care Practice ◽

Nccn Guidelines ◽

Care Integration ◽

Published Evidence ◽

Care Assessment ◽

History Of ◽

Healthcare Chaplaincy

Spiritual care and chaplaincy have been part of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Distress Management since the first meeting of the panel in 1997, possibly the first time this degree of spiritual care and chaplaincy care integration occurred in cancer care. Since that time, the chaplaincy care section of the guidelines, especially chaplain assessment categories derived from a spiritual care assessment, have provided a major resource for healthcare chaplaincy and have served as a model for integrating chaplaincy into the overall team practice of healthcare. However, this section of the NCCN Guidelines has not been substantially updated since it was originally written. During those 20 years, the practice of healthcare chaplaincy and the research that supports it have grown substantially. In the last year, at the request of the panel, we have updated the chaplaincy care section to fully integrate recently published evidence in spiritual care in healthcare, adding more value to this important set of guidelines. Those updates appear in the 2019 version of the NCCN Guidelines. This article discusses the history of chaplaincy involvement in the NCCN Guidelines for Distress Management and the precedent it set for the integration of chaplaincy in other efforts that followed. Integration of this section of the Guidelines into the spiritual care practice at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is presented as an example of how these guidelines can be put into practice to improve patient care. Finally, a summary of the recent research by Drs. Kenneth Pargament and Julie Exline is presented as the foundation for the revised chaplain assessment categories and interventions.

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