Human. Chaplain.

One of the challenges of hospice chaplaincy is that many of us are learning the work while actively doing it. I’m starting a monthly series to share a few resources I’ve found helpful along the way.

Hospice chaplains often work in relative isolation, carry high caseloads, and navigate systems where there may be little formal training, mentorship, or role clarity, especially around clinical documentation, interdisciplinary communication, and spiritual assessment.

This month’s resources:

DEVELOPING THE H-5: A Quantifiable Spiritual Assessment for Hospice Care. An open-access article by Stacey Morgan, MDiv, BCC, Brianne Kruger MA BCC, and Dr. George Fitchett outlining a structured hospice spiritual assessment model designed to improve consistency, interdisciplinary communication, and identification of spiritual distress in both patients and families. Particularly relevant for chaplains navigating increasing expectations around documentation quality, interdisciplinary communication, and survey readiness.

NEW HOSPICE CHAPLAINS – A Free Mini Course by Rick Capezza. A practical, straightforward introduction to hospice chaplaincy covering: hospice team culture, spiritual assessment, SOAP notes/charting, IDG communication, and translating pastoral skills into clinical practice. Access under the Classroom tab in the Spiritual Care Collaborative’s Skool Community (free to join!).

POSTS ON HOSPICE CHAPLAINCY by Rev. Tyler Johnson MDiv BCC. Among other things, Tyler offers a practical framework for translating spiritual care into clinically meaningful communication for the IDT, including the structure: headline – evidence – intervention – outcome. Link to Tyler’s post on communicating with the IDT.