chaplaincy: the forgotten part of the MDT

There is one part of the multidisciplinary team we are all liable to forget about. Those who provide spiritual help in time of need and who profess they love Jesus, can be a precious gift from God to nursing staff and the hospital. I am of course, talking about the chaplaincy team.

In our diverse society, chaplains can be Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Humanist. Larger hospitals are likely to have one member of the chaplaincy team representing each of these religions.

If you work in a hospital, who represents Christianity on your chaplaincy team? What are they like? If you’re not sure, I urge you to find out! You may be delighted with the answer. In my hospital, we are blessed beyond measure with a Lead Chaplain who adores the Lord Jesus and sensitively leads many hurting individuals and families to him in prayer every day. What a thought!

She facilitates our monthly staff prayer meeting and runs an ‘afternoon tea’ fortnightly in Paediatric Intensive Care for parents to have space away from the bedside and talk about how they’re coping. Her evident role as ‘The Chaplain’ means families often turn the conversation to spiritual things and are open to prayer in a way they perhaps wouldn’t be with clinical staff.

What about your chaplain? Do some research – ask to meet them for coffee. Maybe they need encouragement? Maybe they need somebody to pray with? If you discover in each other a mutual love for Jesus, you can be a powerful partnership in a climate of despair.

Georgie Coster is CMF Associate Head of Nursing