This narrative reflection examines spiritual care for Muslim patients during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and end-of-life care. Islamic ethics emphasize preservation of life, dignity, prevention of harm, and relief of suffering. Practices such as talqin, Qur'anic recitation, modesty protection, family presence, qibla orientation, and imam or chaplain involvement may be accommodated when they do not interfere with resuscitation. Direct evidence during cardiac arrest remains limited, supporting consensus, simulation, feasibility testing, and evaluation.
This article offers an original comparative analysis of spiritual care providers and midwives using two theoretical models, the "art of midwifery practice" and "practiced spirituality". The analysis draws on interview data from ten New Zealand midwives. Focusing on presence, guardianship, intuition, confidence/courage, and human relationship, the analysis reveals shared yet distinct ways of enacting care, illuminating overlooked dimensions of spiritual care practice, and opening new avenues for interdisciplinary reflection.
This reflection challenges the revenue-centric model of healthcare administration within the United States that treats professional chaplains as financial liabilities due to a lack of direct fee-for-service insurance billing codes-a structural condition reflected in compensation disparities between chaplains and their clinical peers. Operating within the contemporary landscape of value-based care, this paper synthesizes health economics and clinical literature to establish a data-informed case for chaplaincy as an institutional asset for cost mitigation and quality improvement. Early spiritual care and interdisciplinary palliative interventions correlate with reduced patient Length of Stay (LOS) and lower overall resource utilization under Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) payment structures. Furthermore, integrated spiritual care supports federal reimbursement under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program by improving Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient experience scores. Chaplaincy interventions also mitigate costly clinical workforce turnover by addressing moral distress among nurses and physicians. Ultimately, evaluating a chaplain's utility solely through direct fee-for-service revenue tracking represents a narrow economic view. Aligning compensation structures to reflect operational contributions establishes equitable pay as a matter of fiscal accuracy and administrative sustainability.
This clinical pastoral reflection explores how historical and artistic narratives may support meaning-making in chaplaincy encounters. During a pastoral visit with a patient experiencing advanced cancer and depression, the lives of Vincent van Gogh and William Cowper became interpretive resources through which suffering was reframed as spiritually continuous rather than spiritually disqualifying. The encounter illustrates how narrative engagement can foster renewed hope while suffering remains unresolved within clinical pastoral care.
There is a growing public support for medical interventions at the End of Life (EoL), such as euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (EPAS) and palliative sedation (PS). This paper explores pastors’ views and their pastoral care on the place of EPAS and PS and uses a 2.556 pastors’ survey. W hereas only 38% were in favour of EPAS, more than 90% could justify PS. This paper analyses the differences in pastors’ attitudes regarding EPAS versus PS.
This article examines several ethical, legal, and spiritual aspects of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada, a practice that has been legalized in Canada since June 17, 2016. The article identifies the underlying ethical tension of patient autonomy, and the principle of care providers protecting vulnerable populations. The article reviews how the legal framework of MAiD has evolved in Canada, where now individuals with any irremediable medical condition have access to this program; and where the care community appears divided regarding MAiD options for people's mental health. The article looks at the ethical, legal impacts of MAiD for medical providers, with a specific focus on their moral conscience; mental health wellbeing; duty to "do no harm". Spiritual care providers have a role to play in MAiD situations, as they act as a non-judgmental supportive presence who honor their own ethical limits, as well as the various belief systems of their patients. Utilizing a case example and ethical frameworks, the article advocates for compassionate care for individuals in serious and persistent suffering that is rooted in patient centered care, as honoring dignity and personhood with safeguards against potential abuse. The overall recommendation in this exploratory article is for equitable interdisciplinary care that includes considerations of ethics, spiritual care and legalities.
Burnout represents a complex occupational risk with significant psychosocial implications. This study estimates the prevalence of burnout among Spanish Catholic priests and examines its correlations with sociodemographic, quality of life, anxiety, depression, and personality factors. A total of 116 priests completed a battery of psychological instruments. The prevalence results varied depending on the assessment scale used. Lifestyle, type of priesthood, quality of life, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and personality traits, were significantly correlated with burnout.
This paper highlights the role of pastoral/spiritual care for patients facing a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. Although DNR is sometimes seen as an unfortunate way of foregoing the patient's hope to survive, it can be a form of pastoral care to let them die with less pain through withholding excessive and burdensome treatment, thus keeping their dignity intact. More importantly, pastoral care involves the indispensable loving support of families, pastors/priests, and community members.
The hospital setting can present physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges for individuals. It is important to recognize these challenges and empower individuals to manage them. The health care team is in a unique position to listen to the needs of hospitalized individuals. Three vignettes illustrate active listening, compassion, and access to resources. With these tools, health care clinicians can humanize the hospital experience and alleviate the emotional burden patients face in the hospital setting.
This reflection explores the integration of pastoral care and pedagogy to support LGBTQIA+ students in Catholic higher education. Drawing from classroom experiences, it highlights fostering inclusion while balancing Church teachings and students' lived experiences. The article discusses pastoral accompaniment, empathy, and the importance of creating safe spaces. It emphasizes faithful presence over easy answers, urging educators to embody radical hospitality, embrace self-reflection, and accompany students with compassion, fostering belonging and hope within the educational community.
This essay explores the spiritual lives of individuals with severe autism through the lenses of embodiment theology, disability theology, and personal storytelling. Drawing on the author's experience as both a father of a child with severe autism and spiritual care provider, it reframes spirituality as an embodied and sensory reality rather than primarily cognitive. The essay challenges providers to expand their spiritual imagination, recognizing sensory experiences as sacred and inviting new approaches to spiritual care.
Various "arbitrary factors" shaped healthcare chaplains' experiences during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author's reflection provides personal recollection, uniquely situated in the particular local organizational dynamics and inter-personal relationships among the professionals, supplementing the qualitative survey articles by the field's on-going effort to collect, organize, and interpret the pandemic's impact on the spiritual care practitioners.
This paper is a reflection on the role of doctors in everyone's life. It is anchored and inspired from three Filipino doctors who serve as frontliners and died during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through sacrifice and service, they provide unconditional care up to the point of risking and losing their lives. They deserve trust and cooperation from their patients to execute an effective treatment and care management.
