Work-related perceptions and coping strategies of acute care chaplains: a qualitative analysis

Abstract

Hospital-based chaplains provide crucial spiritual and emotional care to patients, families, and staff during times of intense life changes and crises. Chaplains are regularly exposed to suffering and their work may result in personal mental and emotional health challenges. To understand chaplains’ perceptions of the impact of their work and methods to cope, a secondary analysis of a mixed-methods study on chaplain well-being was undertaken. Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine hospital-based chaplains and data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results revealed that participants perceive their work as offering both trials and rewards, and their efforts to cope with trials include interpersonal support, intrapersonal resources, and spiritual resilience. Personal insights into chaplains’ experiences may help inform organizational interventions to support these essential members of the care team.

Keywords:

• Chaplains
• coping
• hospital
• job stress
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the AdventHealth Wholeness Institute for the support of this work, Dr. Patricia Robinson for her leadership and guidance, Dr. Jeanette Green for her mentorship, and the chaplains who shared their experiences and time.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.