CHAPLAIN PRN - Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center

PRN Chaplain Position Description

The PRN chaplain provides pastoral care for all areas of the hospital including patients, families and associates. The PRN chaplain is the hospital liaison for organ donation and is responsible for responding to call codes, emergencies and traumas as well as any other request for pastoral care.

The person selected for this position must be available to be on call regularly (3-4 times per pay period scheduled in advance) must carry the pager when on call and when paged, be able to arrive at the medical center within 30 minutes.); He/she must be a member in good standing of a church or another recognized faith tradition;

The PRN chaplain provides a ministry of presence to others and will be required to function in crisis situations that are fast paced and stressful. The ideal candidate will be a person of faith, integrity, stability, and able to maintain a high level of confidentiality, ensuring quality, safety, and manage proper use of time.

The PRN chaplain will promote excellence of patient care and be ready to explain Advance Directives, DNR designation, code status, organ and tissue donation and end of life concerns. He/she will be courteous to all patrons and help resolve their problems to their satisfaction. They will promote the Medical Center and promote high patient and associate morale.

Although our chaplains serve primarily from a broadly Christian perspective, the chaplains are also trained to provide pastoral care to persons from other faiths as well as those people who do not consider themselves religious or spiritual.

Hospital wide orientation and departmental training will be provided for this position. A college degree and clinical pastoral education training preferred, as well as training in pastoral ministry, counseling, crisis intervention and/or social services.

The PRN chaplain will be evaluated annually using the following criteria:

Communication The PRN chaplain possesses the skills to express ideas and information accurately, clearly and timely in both a spoken and written form; and is able to read and understand others' written or oral communications and when communication is not clear, initiates a resolution for clarification. This assumes that they have the ability to communicate effectively on the phone, interpersonally, and in certain circumstances by email. The following will be evaluated:

• The extent to which the associate communicates in a friendly, positive, effective fashion, with: physicians, nurses, volunteers, associates, supervisors, patients, families, visitors and external health care partners and community agencies.
• The extent, to which written communications are well organized, completed on time, completed accurately, and easily understood.
• The extent, to which oral communications are well organized, accurate, timely, easily understood with the ability to utilize exceptional listening and feedback skills, seeking to clarify information when needed.

Administration—use of logs, charting, other required forms/documents that the PRN chaplain utilizes to document all visits, interventions, and hospital policies/procedures according to the standards of the Medical Center and the Department of Pastoral Care. The following will be evaluated:

• The PRN chaplain makes most effective use of available work time; approaches work in an organized manner by determining proper procedures required to complete his/her work and completes work within the required time frame.
• The PRN chaplain must be able to understand and to follow hospital and department policies and procedures (and be current on these).
• The PRN chaplain applies and demonstrates the specific knowledge required to perform the job which takes into consideration the extent to which the associate effectively applies that knowledge to position responsibilities.
• The PRN chaplain is required to make referrals within the established time frame (organ-tissue donation referrals).

Interpersonal Skills: The degree to which the PRN chaplain works effectively with fellow associates, volunteers, physicians, supervisors, patients, families, visitors, and others; and is able to respond positively to situations which require internal cooperation and external courtesy in a tactful manner to avoid conflict, and contributes to a feeling of teamwork. The following will be evaluated:

• The extent, to which the associate deals effectively with peers, and supervisors, contributes to a feeling of teamwork and to work as a team member.
• The extent to which the chaplain possesses the ability to communicate respectfully across cultures and with persons of different faiths or no faith and is an exemplary listener and possesses a friendly, compassionate, approachable and non-judgmental demeanor
• The extent to which the chaplain possesses the ability to work in highly stressful and sometimes chaotic situations while maintaining a calm demeanor.
• The extent to which the chaplain possesses the ability to provide patient centered care through the provision of excellent customer service in order to help resolve any problems that they are experiencing to their satisfaction.

Attendance: Attendance will be based on the number of incidents of absenteeism, excluding bereavement, FMLA, jury duty, or military as described in the Personnel Policies Handbook. This also includes: timely page on for call rotation and adherence to the rotation schedule in accordance to those policies and procedures outlined in the department handbook. The following will be evaluated:

• Work Hours: The PRN chaplain must be willing to work non-traditional hours including: night holidays and weekends. The must have the means to arrive at the hospital within 30 minutes when needed.

• Department meetings: The PRN chaplain must attend at least 80% of department meetings throughout the year. Normally there is one meeting scheduled per month unless otherwise notified. During this meeting pertinent announcements are made and call schedules are finalized.

• Training The hospital requires some annual training to learn required competencies, policies and procedures. This training must be completed by all associates within the guidelines established by the hospital. From time to time, there will be additional training events (scheduled in advance) particular to the Department of Pastoral Care relevant to the work of a chaplain, all chaplains will be required to participate in this training.
• Call schedule—The PRN chaplain will take call on a regular basis.(A minimum of 3-4 times per pay period scheduled in advance). If the chaplain has a scheduling conflict they must follow the procedures outlined in the department handbook.
• Arrival time when paged. The chaplain who is on call must carry the pager during their call rotation and be able to arrive at the medical center within 30 minutes (unless weather conditions are adverse).
• Holiday Coverage the hospital recognizes six holidays per year, a PRN chaplain is required to provide coverage for holidays when scheduled. (See department handbook)
• Accepts other assignments (as needed and upon request by the Department Director, which fall within the job description of a PRN chaplain).

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