Collaborating With Hospital Chaplains to Meet the Spiritual Needs of Critical Care Patients

There are many opportunities for critical-care nurses to collaborate with chaplains in an effort to provide spiritual care for patients and their families. By recognizing the educational requirements as well as the unique roles of board-certified chaplains (BCCs), the critical-care nurse will view them as respected members of the health care team. This collaboration positively impacts the work environment and creates a holistic space for healing for patients, as well as the health care team. As nurses, we must educate and inform novice nurses about the important role of BCCs on the interdisciplinary health care team. Critical-care nurses need to incorporate the BCCs' contributions into the patient plan of care during bedside report in a way that helps the nurse understand the connection between the patient's spiritual health and his/her experience as a patient.