Today health care is one of the main topics of discussion on most news or talk show programs. However, one area of health care that is often neglected in these discussions is the role of spirituality and how it is integrated into the contemporary medical model.
As the French philosopher, Jesuit priest, and World War I veteran, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”
At the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Palm Beach, chaplains are the professional health care providers on the interdisciplinary teams that are qualified, employed, and endorsed by their faith group endorsers to provide spiritual and pastoral care. As a health care organization, we do not simply treat the physical ailment but treat the entire person – bio-psycho-social-spiritual. As part of treating the whole person, chaplains conduct spiritual assessments. With the patient’s permission, we document these spiritual assessments in the patient’s medical record to provide valuable information to the treatment team. The assessments include such areas as spiritual injury, religious or cultural barriers to well-being, ability to integrate faith and life values, life changes and support systems and religious history. By evaluating these factors, it helps to guide the provider in better understanding the patient’s needs and choices. It will also allow the treatment team to address and treat underlying issues that might otherwise not have been uncovered or misunderstood.
As our veteran population continues on their life journey, chaplains are charged with standing alongside them and their families. Moreover, many times these patients need prayer, encouragement and emotional support. At times, our veterans ask for assistance as they wrestle with difficult spiritual questions and deal with painful existential concerns. Sometimes we are called upon to provide pastoral support or simply listen. Chaplains do not attempt to convert or persuade a patient to change one’s religious or spiritual beliefs. Rather, our role is to support the patient as he or she works through their spiritual problems or crisis. Our medical center has Catholic, Jewish and Protestant chaplains that are on staff to provide a wide spectrum of spiritual support. We also provide input on many moral and ethical challenges that health care faces today.
In short, the clinical chaplain of today works as a vital and integrated team member in the overall health care of the patients we are entrusted to serve.
Today health care is one of the main topics of discussion on most news or talk show programs. However, one area of health care that is often neglected in these discussions is the role of spirituality and how it is integrated into the contemporary medical model. 
