Hospice Chaplain

Job Profile Summary 

​This role focuses on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of patients and canprovide services if necessary.  In addition, this role focuses on performing the following Spiritual Care duties:Provides spiritual care to patients,provides support for emotional, spiritual, and social needs to patients to ensure personal needs are met, and can refer to religious or non-religious care. May includevisitationsat home orin hospitals.   A professional individual contributor role that may direct the work of otherlower level professionals or manage processes and programs.  The majority of time is spent overseeing the design, implementation or delivery of processes, programs and policies using specialized knowledge and skills typicallyacquired through advanced education.  An entry level role that applies broad theoretical job knowledge typically obtained through advanced education.  May require the following proficiency:  work is closely supervised, problems faced are not typically difficult or complex, and explains facts, policies and practices related to job area.

Job Overview 

This role involves offering spiritual and religiousassistance to patients and their familiesin accordance with their individual needs, preferences, and belief systems. Working closely with a multidisciplinary team, this position ensures consistent emotional and spiritual support for patients, families, visitors, and staff members.Serve patients and families from various faith backgrounds and diverse cultural contexts.Engages in personal interactions,provides crisis intervention, and offers solace to patients and families.Facilitate decision-making processes by drawing upon their understanding of religious heritage, theological values, behavioral sciences, and bio-ethical principles.Intervene during crisis situations. 

Job Description 

Minimum Qualifications: 

1.Master of Divinity degree or equivalent from an accredited school orseminary. 

2. Completion of one (1)unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

1. Completion offour (4)units of Clinical Pastoral Education. 

2. National Association ofCatholic Chaplains (NACC),Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), orCollege of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP) certification.

3. Three (3) years of Chaplaincy experience.

4.Endorsed standing as a minister, priest, rabbi, or member of a religious order. 

5.Experience in a health care setting or working with end-of-life care. 

Duties and Responsibilities: Theduties and responsibilities listedbeloware intended to describe the general nature of work and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Other dutiesand responsibilitiesmay be assigned. 

1.Visits with newly admitted patients to assess the need for spiritual/emotional support. Completesan initial spiritual assessment as required by Medicare Conditions of Participation guidelines. 

2.Based on assessment and patient/family wishes,provide spiritual support and interventions in nonjudgmental manner to patients and families in various life situations and crisis circumstances through follow-up visits whenappropriate. 

3.Provides crisis intervention toassist patients and their families when dealing with trauma and grief due to loss of life. 

4.Participates in interdisciplinary rounds on all units as an integral partner of the health care team. Participates in the interdisciplinary team conferences andassists in developing and reviewing care plans 

5.Participates in patient/family meetings tofacilitate decision making concerning, advance care planning and end-of-life issues. 

6.Provides grief and bereavement support, sacramental ministry, and end of life care to patients,families and staff. 

7.Serve as a liaison with notification and involvement of patient/family's own spiritual community at patient/family's request.Assists with funeral and memorial services whenrequested. 

8.Communicates relevant patient information with other disciplines through the use of referral systems, chart entries and other mechanisms in the clinical setting. 

9.Documents all contacts per procedure including visits, telephone calls, assessments, interventions, responses to interventions, and communications. 

10.Maintains professionalism with colleagues, peers,patients and families. Puts forth a positive agency image. 

11.Serves as a resource to staff andprovides in-services to the staff and volunteersregarding differing theological points of view, rituals, customs and beliefs and the role of the chaplain. 

12.Participates in patient care conferences, bereavement meetings, training programs and other events asappropriate and needed. 

13.Knowledge and understanding of what to report to the CEO or Chief Compliance Officer when concerns of corporate compliance arise.   

14.Adheres to the ethical standard set forth by Hospital policy and chaplaincy professional organizations. 

15.Ensures compliance within guidelines set forth by regulatory agencies (DPH, ERISA etc.) andcompliance withpolicies and procedures. 

16.Practices confidentiality principles set by the agency and federal HIPAA/HITECH guidelines. 

17.Participates in all mandatory in-services. 

Physical Requirements:  

1. Frequentlyrequired to move about inside the office and patient’s homes. 

2. Occasionally lift and/or move up to 10-25 pounds.  

3. Frequently communicates internally and externally; must be able to exchangeaccurate information via phone, email and/or in person.  

4.Specific vision abilities apply including close vision, distance vision and ability to adjust focus.  

5.The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  

6.While performing this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. 

Skills & Abilities: 

1. Possess exceptional communication and listening skills. 

2.Knowledge of, and sensitivity to, the spiritual issues expressed by the terminally ill and their families. 

3.Ability to beopen, and accepting in serving patients/families of differing faiths. 

4.Ability to read/write and communicate in English.  

5.Excellent interpersonal skills. 

6.Ability to function well invery busy situations. 

7.Responsible and reliable. 

8.Goodorganization skills. 

9.Knowledge of CQI process. 

10.Understands family dynamics and works effectively withinvarious types of family systems. 

11. Knowledgeable about bio-ethical principles and the spiritual and emotional challengesencountered in healthcare settings. 

At Tufts Medicine, we want every individual to feel valued for the skills and experience they bring. Our compensation philosophy is designed to offer fair, competitive pay that attracts, retains, and motivates highly talented individuals, while rewarding the important work you do every day.

The base pay ranges reflect the minimum qualifications for the role. Individual offers are determined using a comprehensive approach that considers relevant experience, certifications, education, skills, and internal equity to ensure compensation is fair, consistent, and aligned with our business goals.

Beyond base pay, Tufts Medicine provides a comprehensive Total Rewards package that supports your health, financial security, and career growth—one of the many ways we invest in you so you can thrive both at work and outside of it.

Pay Range:

based on full-time equivalent