Hospital chaplaincy
The hospital chaplaincy is the special pastoral care of Christian churches within hospitals . In Germany, this form of pastoral care is carried out by full-time pastors such as pastors, deacons, pastoral officers and community officers. There are also volunteer hospital chaplains who are trained and accompanied by full-time chaplains. Hospital pastoral care is aimed at patients and hospital staff.
Special qualifications in this field
Hospital chaplaincy is associated with many advanced training courses, as the subject is very extensive. It requires training appropriate to the specialty and requirements and continuous accompanying supervision . Special pastoral psychology seminars dedicated to hospital pastoral care are now a compulsory part of the training for graduates of the Catholic theology degree program in Germany.
Clinical pastoral training is an important form of advanced training - not only - for this field of work . In addition, there are further qualifying advanced training courses for special operational and topic areas, for example for pastoral care in children's clinics, with "people in a changed state of consciousness" - for example Intensive care units, in psychiatry or in geriatrics - in a palliative context as spiritual care or for ethics advice in a clinical context , for example in ethics committees .
Legal framework
In Germany, hospital pastoral care (“ institutional pastoral care ”) is guaranteed in the constitution ( Art. 140 GG in conjunction with Art. 141 WRV). It is a joint task of the state and religious communities , i.e. a so-called res mixta .
literature
- Thomas Kammerer (Ed.) Traumland Intensive Care Unit - Altered states of consciousness and coma ; Norderstedt, Books on demand, 2006, ISBN 3-8334-4586-6 .
- Michael Klessmann (Ed.) Manual of Hospital Pastoral Care ; 3rd edition, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-62403-6 .
- Monika Renz: Borderline experience of God: Spiritual experiences in suffering and illness. 3rd edition, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2006, ISBN 3-451-05341-1 (Spiritual experiences of 135 patients at the Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland. Results of a research project presented in a practical manner and with moving patient reports).
- Monika Renz: Testimonies of the dying: closeness to death as change and final maturation. 3rd edition, Junfermann, Paderborn 2005, ISBN 3-87387-622-1 (With idea cards for supervisors and relatives as well as the 10 most frequently asked questions on the subject).
- Monika Renz: Go over what happens when you die. Approaches to ultimate truths in our lives. Kreuz, Freiburg im Breisgau 2014, ISBN 978-3-451-61029-5 ; 6th edition of the total edition: Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2015, ISBN 978-3-451-06788-4 (= Herder Spectrum , volume 6788).
Web links
- Evangelical Church in Germany: "Strengthening the strength to be human": Guidelines for Protestant hospital pastoral care. A guide ; 2004; (pdf; 120 kB)
- Archdiocese of Munich and Freising: Quality standards: hospital chaplaincy Munich