Position Overview

As a Pastoral Care Practitioner you will work as part of the multidisciplinary care team to address the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of patients, their loved ones and staff at North Canberra Hospital (NCH). At NCH we understand that healthcare works best when we create a person-centred partnership that delivers holistic care for the body, mind and spirit. Pastoral care seeks to address the spiritual domain of health, with particular response to the unique human vulnerabilities associated with healthcare including fear, loneliness, pain, grief, and joy. Standard hours of work are 8am-3:51pm and this role may include an overnight on-call service, weekend and public holiday work.

Duties

Under limited direction of the Director of Pastoral and Spiritual Care, you will:

1. Provide pastoral care that identifies and responds to a person’s emotional and spiritual wellbeing by undertaking spiritual assessments, creating spiritual care plans, providing spiritual interventions and identifying and reporting on health outcomes.
2. Assist people to access their own spiritual resources, find meaning in their particular experience, and promote spiritual and emotional wellbeing as central to the planning and provision of health care.
3. Recognising that each person has their own spirituality which may be expressed in different ways, provide pastoral care that shows respect and sensitivity to the diversity of our community.
4. Provide pastoral care in a variety of clinical settings including critical care, medical emergencies, palliative care, death and bereavement.
5. Prioritise caseload, manage competing priorities and refer people with needs outside scope of practice to other spiritual, health care or community practitioners.
6. Work as part of the Pastoral and Spiritual Care team, including supporting students and faith representatives.
7. Support, develop, and facilitate private and public spiritual practices, including rituals such as prayer, memorial services and viewings of deceased bodies.
8. Review and develop your pastoral identity and practice, particularly through self-reflection, self-care and via external clinical supervision.
9. Work to standard of Level 2: Independent Practitioner in accordance with Spiritual Care Australia’s Capabilities Framework for Spiritual Care Practitioners.
10. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

About you

CHS is committed to workforce diversity and to creating an inclusive workplace. As part of this commitment, we welcome applications from all diversity groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability and people who identify as LGBTQIA+ are particularly encouraged to apply.

Behavioural Capabilities

1. Strong organisation and time management skills with the ability to work as a team and independently.
2. The ability to work in a fast paced environment and deliver quality outcomes.
3. A strong commitment to patient safety, best practice and evidenced based care.

Position Requirements / Qualifications

• Hold a tertiary qualification in pastoral care, pastoral counselling, theology, chaplaincy, clinical pastoral education, psychology, social sciences (or another related area to the delivery of pastoral care) from an accredited education provider. Experience in clinical pastoral care is highly desirable.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework, Clinical Governance Framework, Partnering With Consumers Framework and all other related frameworks.
• CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates and contingencies.

Desirable

• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.

Please note prior to commencement successful candidates will be required to:

• Prior to commencing this role, a current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Undergo a pre-employment National Police Check.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Understanding of the role and practice of Pastoral Care in an acute health setting.
2. Demonstrated competence in providing person-centred pastoral care to people from diverse faith, cultural and social backgrounds who are experiencing ill health, bereavement or other challenging life events.
3. Well-developed pastoral identity (beliefs/values/worldview/characteristics that define you as a pastoral carer) that informs your pastoral practice.
4. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful and kind.

Work Environment Description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.