Clinical Chaplain

The Clinical Chaplain provides compassionate spiritual and emotional care to patients, families, and team members supporting holistic, patient-centered care across the organization. This role also serves as a clinical educator, promoting spiritual care practices, team member well-being, and resilience through education, mentorship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The Clinical Chaplain contributes to the development of others through activities such as case review, reflective practice, staff education, and onboarding support. In markets with established Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs, this role may also participate in the delivery of accredited CPE programming, including precepting students, facilitating learning experiences, and supporting program operations in alignment with applicable accreditation and regulatory requirements.

At UnityPoint Health, you matter. We’re proud to be recognized as a Top 150 Place to Work in Healthcare by Becker's Healthcare several years in a row for our commitment to our team members.

Our competitive Total Rewards program offers benefits options that align with your needs and priorities, no matter what life stage you’re in.  Here are just a few:    

• Expect paid time off, parental leave, 401K matching and an employee recognition program.

• Dental and health insurance, paid holidays, short and long-term disability and more. We even offer pet insurance for your four-legged family members.

• Early access to earned wages with Daily Pay, tuition reimbursement to help further your career and adoption assistance to help you grow your family.

With a collective goal to champion a culture of belonging where everyone feels valued and respected, we honor the ways people are unique and embrace what brings us together.  

And, we believe equipping you with support and development opportunities is a vital part of delivering an exceptional employment experience.

Find a fulfilling career and make a difference with UnityPoint Health.

• Provide comprehensive spiritual assessments, interventions, and follow-up care for patients and families

• Respond to consults involving crisis, trauma, end-of-life care, ethical concerns, and spiritual distress

• Document care accurately in the electronic health record

• Participate in on-call rotation as assigned

• Support services, memorials, and departmental programming

• Maintain required credentials and ongoing professional development

• Contribute to quality improvement initiatives within chaplaincy and CPE programs

• Serves as clinical educator and resource to interdisciplinary teams, providing education on spiritual care, emotional support, and approached to addressing moral distress, grief, and crisis situations.

• Support orientation and onboarding of team members by integrating spiritual care principles into clinical practice and team workflows.

• Develop and deliver presentations, workshops, and resources for staff, patients, families, and/or the community on topics such as coping, meaning-making, grief and moral distress

• Model professional chaplaincy practice for CPE residents in clinical settings

• Provide emotional and spiritual support to team members through presence, debriefings, and critical incident response

• Promote a culture of compassion, resilience, and reflective practice

• Participate in interdisciplinary rounds and care planning

• Consult with healthcare teams regarding patient and family spiritual needs

• Partner with CPE faculty to align clinical education with patient care priorities

• Participate in department and organization committee work as assigned.

Education: 

• Master's degree in Divinity, Theology, Pastoral Studies, or a related field required.
• 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) required.

Experience: 

• Minimum of 1 year of experience providing spiritual care in a hospital or similar caregiving setting required.

License/Certification: 

• Board Certified Chaplain from one of the following organizations required within 2 years: National Association of Jewish Chaplains, Association of Certified Christian Chaplains, Association of Professional Chaplains, Board of Chaplancey Certification Inc., National Association of Catholic Chaplains, National Association of VA Chaplains, Spiritual Care Association.