Center to Advance Palliative Care

Yes- a properly CPE trained chaplain will know and understand that proselytizing is NOT the chaplain's role- actually the direct opposite. A major role of the chaplain is to remind the patient of who s/he is- not try and convince the patient of something else. And so, when providing support for the patient- whether it be spiritual or emotional (God does not always play a role for the patient or family), the chaplain is trained to provide that support- support that is essentially catered to the specific patient or family member where that specific person is at that specific moment.

I think the word "intervention" should be discarded. The chaplain must initiate his/her visit after the Palliative Care consult takes place (within that same day or the following day). If Palliative Care is alleviating suffering (physical, emotional, existential, etc.) at any stage in an illness, then a spiritual assessment must take place at that time as well. Once the chaplain is present and is understood, to the patient and the patient's support system, as part of the healing team, the chaplain becomes a resource and a support as days, weeks, months, years progress.

And so, to answer the question head on, at what point should a chaplain become involved? Ideally, day zero or one in the hospital. By involving the chaplain early in the process, this allows the patient and family to better understand the chaplain's role. We are not there only in times of death- we are there in times of life; we are there to witness, provide support, and acknowledge the struggle to live that life in the way the patient wants to live it while in the midst of illness.
-Chaplain/Rabbi E. Meyerson