The Chaplain-Physician Relationship

Learn how to establish and maintain effective relationships with physicians with this authoritative new book. Chaplains will discover a wealth of information and insight into the often strained chaplain-physician relationship and will learn practical steps they can take to strengthen the ties between two very different professions. Each chapter, written by a chaplain with a history of successful collaboration with physicians, features important examples of interdisciplinary cooperative effort in various settings including obstetrics, geriatrics, and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation centers. Hospital chaplains, especially those who wish to improve their relationships with physicians and hospital administrators will find this to be an invaluable book, as will pastoral counselors not presently involved with hospitals who desire to work with physicians in health and illness settings.

Highlights of the book include:

• an inside view of medical education and practice, with a description of the dilemmas of medical practice which are very different from those in ministry
•  A constructive look at “doctor bashing” in which many chaplains engage, often unknowingly
• a description of pastoral care efforts in discrete patient care areas that involve close relationships to physicians, with an emphasis on friendship and informal contacts
• an overview of a program in which the chaplains’s role is expanded to that of a behavioral medicine consultant