Center to Advance Palliative Care

Thanks to those who have shared assessment tools. I find it very helpful to see what others have done. I think we would do much better if this happened more as opposed to each person doing something new. Through this process we might come to some concensus on what the most effective tool might be. I do often wonder about the logic each person uses to decide what data they will collect. I think the basic question should be, how does collecting this particular piece of information assist in providing the client with helpful pastoral care? If there is no answer, the question should be excluded. For instance, I've often wondered about the utility of faith tradition- except in broad categories (Jewish, Christian, etc). I would be interested in more discussion about pieces of assessment information that people have found particulary helpful clinically, or particularly unhelpful.

The Rev. George Handzo, BCC
Vice President
Pastoral Care Leadership & Practice
The HealthCare Chaplaincy
New York, NY