Chaplain Intern

About the role

The Chaplain Intern position at Houston Methodist Hospital is a part-time or summer opportunity within the Houston Methodist accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program. This program includes both classroom education and individual supervised learning.

Responsibilities

• Participates in the provision of spiritual care to meet the spiritual, religious, and emotional needs of patients, families, and employees under the supervision of the Certified Educator/Associate Educator or Student Educator CPE.
• Precepted and mentored by an assigned Senior Chaplain/Chaplain, providing spiritual care to patients and their families, including those undergoing surgery, critically ill, and those nearing death.
• Collaborates with the patient care team, participating in interprofessional health team rounds, discharge planning, support groups, and other interprofessional teams.
• Assists in the initial screening and assessment of patients, developing patient care plans, and responding to assigned referrals.
• Provides crisis intervention for patients, visitors, and employees, addressing their spiritual needs and involving others as necessary.
• Contributes to improving department scores for employee engagement on the department scorecard.
• Seeks guidance from the Certified Educator, Associate Educator, Student Educator, and precepting Chaplain to ensure quality and safety in services provided.
• Accurately and thoroughly documents patient visits and spiritual care provided in the patient's record.
• Contributes to identifying and implementing corrective actions and improvement activities, contributing to meeting department and organizational targets for quality and safety.
• Reports "near misses" and inputs into the Patient Safety Net (PSN).
• Prepares required patient care reports and other summaries for review and evaluation in compliance with CPE program requirements.
• Proactively learns from feedback and mentoring, seeking opportunities for continual development and expanding learning beyond baseline competencies.
• Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an ongoing basis.

Requirements

• Enrollment in an accredited college/university with a Bachelor’s degree or graduate level theological degree from an accredited school preferred.
• One year of membership in a faith/belief group.

Qualifications

• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security.
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members, and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles.
• Basic computer knowledge; operates various computer systems to enter and maintain patient documents.
• Strong interpersonal and team player skills with all levels of the healthcare team.
• A high level of maturity with demonstrated self-confidence and ability to make decisions.
• Very strong organization skills and detail-oriented nature.
• Professional handling of exposure to confidential/sensitive information.

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely function in a learning environment.
• Exhibits strong interpersonal and team player skills with all levels of the healthcare team.
• Displays a learning attitude toward solving problems, using good reasoning and judgment in a high-stress environment.
• Demonstrates a positive demeanor and strong multi-tasking abilities.
• Exhibits above-average written and verbal communication skills.
• Handles exposure to confidential/sensitive information professionally.

Benefits

Not specified.

Pay

Not specified.

Schedule

Not specified.

Supplemental Requirements

• Work Attire: Uniform - No, Scrubs - No, Business professional - Yes, Other (department approved) - No.
• On-Call*: Yes.
• Travel**: May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area, May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Houston Methodist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.