Personnel Policies

All applicants for stipended positions are required to read the policies prior to making an application.

   Personnel Policies for Hospital Chaplains

An information pack for any of these positions is available from:

                    The National Executive Officer

                    Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy
                    PO Box  6427 
                    WELLINGTON
                    NEW ZEALAND 6141

                   
                    Phone:   04-801 8008
                    Fax:       04-381 4842
                    E-mail:   admin@ichc.org.nz

Overseas Applicants

The Chaplain as a Member of the Healthcare Team

The Chaplain as Minister and Counsellor

The Chaplain as an Educator

Worship and Sacraments

Church Courts

The Chaplain and the Community

The Chaplain as Mediator

Office Work

Reading and Study

Relationships with Parish Clergy

Funerals and Weddings

Person of the Chaplain

Standard Requirements

All applicants should be accredited Christian Ministers who have a recognised theological or ministry degree or qualification at diploma level from a reputable university and have completed a minimum of one Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Course. They should also have experience in hospital chaplaincy, parish or other relevant ministry positions.

The ability to provide spiritual, emotional and pastoral care to people with a range of health needs and from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds, and to fully participate in a multi-disciplinary health care team, consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, is absolutely essential.

Appointees who are not already an accredited Healthcare Chaplain will be required to work towards obtaining accreditation.  Chaplains are now required to become accredited within 5 years of appointment. 

Appointees, if not current Healthcare Chaplains, will be required to successfully complete a NZ Police clearance procedure which is organised through the ICHC.

Appointees need to be Ministers of Religion in "good standing" and appropriately licensed or authorised to offer Christian ministry by their denomination in New Zealand.

See also The role of a Hospital Chaplain below.

Rights of Patients

ICHC and its Chaplains are required to comply with a number of pieces of Government legislation and the protocols set by the District Health Boards covering the treatment of  patients in the hospitals in which the Chaplains work. These include:

The Health and Disabilities (Safety) Act 2001; The Health and Disability Commissioners Act 1994; The Privacy Act among others.

Chaplains as “Health Agents” will be required to become familiar with these documents and the procedures and Codes of Conduct  that protect the rights of patients; respect their person, privacy and culture and assure them of freedom from discrimination, coercion and harassment while also ensuring they receive informed, professional and ethical treatment of their choice, at all times. This includes whether or not they wish to see a chaplain.

ICHC cannot support or continue the appointment in any hospital or health unit, of a Chaplain who proves to be unacceptable to the management of a hospital or healthcare facility to which she or he has been appointed by ICHC.

Overseas Applicants

To be considered for appointment, overseas applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand. They must also be qualified Ministers of Religion in "good standing" and appropriately licensed or authorised by a Christian denomination in New Zealand, to carry out ministry. 

Chaplains who meet these requirements and want to be considered for a vacancy will be required to travel to New Zealand at their own expense, if they are short listed for interview for any position. The ICHC does not need to recruit Hospital Chaplains overseas, and does not pay relocation costs. 

All Applicants

ICHC and Local Chaplaincy Support Committees are not able to pay relocation costs for new appointees.

The Role of a Hospital Chaplain

Hospital Chaplains employed by the Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy Trust Board Inc (ICHC) are theologically and clinically trained Ministers of Religion in good standing with their own denomination in New Zealand, and whose appointment is endorsed by the proper ecclesiastical authority, and accepted by the hospital authorities. Their purpose is to minister to the spiritual needs of people in the setting in which they serve.

Chaplains are expected to possess a particular understanding of the relationship between faith, illness and the emotional and mental conflicts that arise, and to seek to motivate and invite healthy, meaningful use of each individual's spiritual understanding of his or her problems. Therefore the chaplain will need to be sensitive to the attitudes, fears and hopes which affect the patient's sense of wellbeing or wholeness.

There are many aspects to the role:

The Chaplain as Member of the Healthcare Team
Chaplains in a hospital are members of the healing team in which they have a specialised role. It is important for chaplains to be seen regularly in the wards so that they are seen to be readily available. Involvement in ward and staff meetings, where the chaplain is invited to be present, can be valuable in furthering chaplain / staff relations, and in helping the chaplain understand the needs of patients and staff. While it is important to have referrals from ward staff and others, the chaplains need to make their own decisions on priorities with regard to patient needs.

The Chaplain as Minister and Counsellor
Chaplains are careful not to use their position in the hospital to 'push' religion, especially with those whose illness and situation makes them emotionally susceptible. Nonetheless, the chaplain needs to be aware that illness is often a time when men and women reassess their mode of life, their goals, standards and values. Family life, marital relations, employment, are often re-appraised, and both Christian and non-Christian may welcome the opportunity to talk with the chaplain, even if the visit has not been requested. Such visits usually have a positive effect as long as the chaplain understands and practices the basic principles of pastoral care. Such principles include an ability to demonstrate an understanding of what the patient is experiencing, a willingness to go where the patient wants to go with the relationship, and the courage to challenge or confront the patient when this is appropriate.

Members of staff, as well as patients, may welcome the chaplain in the role of counsellor. Time spent getting to know staff members at a personal level is well spent. It is only when staff are acquainted with the chaplain, and have confidence in him or her as a person, that they are likely to make an approach with their problems or refer patients.

The Chaplain as an Educator
The chaplain has an opportunity to provide a link or bridge between religions, faith and tradition and the human sciences and, to this end, the chaplain is expected to learn enough about health, illness and theology to be able to talk to staff, patients and outside groups on such issues as guilt, death, bereavement and, in general, to discuss the spiritual dimensions of life.

The chaplain needs to be able to educate a variety of helpers, including lay people, on the basics of listening creatively, emotional support, pastoral care and hospital etiquette.

Ethical questions are of increasing concern in hospital practice, and there will be ample opportunity for chaplains to respond on these matters. “The Church” which the Chaplain represents is concerned with medical ethics, and chaplains need to be able to speak their mind. Provided they do this in charity, their views are likely to be respected. Team work and the ability to train, encourage and supervise Voluntary Chaplaincy Assistants is essential.

Worship and Sacraments
Worship services are to be prepared with care and imagination, keeping in mind the special needs of staff and patients. While the theme of the sermon is likely to be that of comfort and encouragement, the chaplain should not be afraid to confront patients and staff with the demands of the Christian Gospel. Chaplains work ecumenically, and must be aware of, and sensitive to, the sacramental and religious needs of patients and staff of denominations other than their own and must see that all needs are met as far as possible.

Church Courts
It is important that chaplains be active in their own denomination, and attendance at Church Courts or Denominational Synods is part of their duty. Church Courts need to be aware that chaplains must be free to attend to their hospital duties, particularly emergencies and call-outs, therefore should not be overloaded with denominational committee work and other demands on their time.

The Chaplain and the Community
Health care is moving from the hospital to the home and community, where parishes are in a unique position to provide emotional support and spiritual resources, for increasing numbers of isolated and home bound patients. Such people are too well to be hospitalised, but too sick or disabled to resume normal daily activities.

Chaplains can stimulate the parishes to see their expanding role in community health, and to offer training programmes for interested clergy and lay persons. Chaplains can also work with parish personnel to develop lifestyle change programmes to reduce the risk of potential health problems.

The Chaplain as Mediator
There are many situations where chaplains can act as a mediator between staff, patient, the patient's family and the community behind the patient.

Chaplains can do much to reassure the patient of the competence of those caring for him or her - to help explain and reinforce medical or nursing procedures on the patient's behalf. There are times when the chaplain will do the same for the anxious family of the patient - sometimes there will be difficult and tragic situations in which the chaplain's help will be of great assistance. By their very presence, chaplains can represent the community the patients come from, and from which they are isolated while in hospital.

Office Work
Chaplains will spend much of their time on the wards. They will, however, have statistical and other records to keep, letters to write, addresses to prepare. For this the chaplains should have adequate secretarial skills. Monthly statistical reports must be filed with ICHC by the 10th of each month. 

Reading and Study
In addition to general theological reading and in-service training opportunities, the chaplain needs to keep up to date with what is being written about pastoral care and hospital ministry. The chaplain should also have some understanding about developments in medical knowledge and practice, and will find the hospital librarian a good ally. Chaplains must work toward obtaining  (and maintaining) qualifications and experience to achieve accreditation as a Healthcare chaplain.

Relationships with Parish Clergy
Chaplains need to be aware of the strict limits imposed by confidentiality legislation before passing on any information about patients to parish clergy. Nonetheless, it is important that chaplains keep lines of communication with parish clergy open, and be alert to ways in which they may be of mutual assistance. The local priest or minister may have knowledge and understanding of a family situation which may well be helpful to the chaplain and to the hospital.

Funerals and Weddings
When a patient dies, the funeral is normally taken by the parish priest or minister, but there may be special cases when it is appropriate for the chaplain to officiate. This is especially true when a long term patient, to whom the chaplain has virtually become the parish minister, dies.

There are other situations when a patient dies and relatives have no connection whatsoever with a parish church where, because of relationships that have developed in the hospital, it may be appropriate for the chaplain to take the funeral. In such situations, it may be appropriate for the chaplain to consult the parish clergy.

Staff members sometimes wish to be married in a hospital chapel. Chaplains may officiate at such weddings only after determining that any parish clergy who may be involved have been consulted and approval given.

Person of the Chaplain
The position of chaplain calls for a mature person with an active spiritual life, and the ability to maintain a healthy balance between self, family, work, educative and recreational needs.

The task is often a lonely one, therefore it will be up to chaplains to initiate their own support, including
adequate supervision. A decision to enter chaplaincy should be out of a genuine sense of vocation, and not because chaplaincy seems to offer an easy way out of some difficult situation.

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