Role clarification: a quality improvement survey of hospital chaplain customers

The following article describes a quality improvement survey that examined the role nurses, patients, and patients' families expect the hospital chaplain to play when they use the chaplain's services. The results of the questionnaire suggest that patients and nurses sometimes see the role of the chaplain differently. There are times when nurses readily call a chaplain to help with a problem on a unit. There are other times when nurses are reluctant to ask for the chaplain, but patients would be most appreciative of the chaplain's presence. This article explores these situations and gives suggestions for ways to use a chaplain's expertise more effectively.