Chaplain - Nashville , TN

Heart'n Soul Hospice; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Heart’n Soul Hospice is seeking a qualified Chaplain to provide compassionate spiritual care to patients and families, honoring diverse faiths while supporting comfort, dignity, and peace at end of life. You will assess spiritual needs, offer counseling, and coordinate with the care team to integrate pastoral support into the overall plan of care.

Advanced pastoral education or board certification pathways are accepted, with experience in healthcare settings.

Qualifications

• Must have advanced pastoral knowledge via one of the accepted pathways.
• Experience in healthcare chaplaincy or hospice care preferred.
• Ability to work in an interfaith, multi-belief setting.

Responsibilities

• Independently provide spiritual care to patients and families, with autonomous assessment.
• Conduct spiritual assessments and tailor pastoral support across faith traditions.
• Provide pastoral counseling and crisis support to patients and families in real time.
• Participate in Interdisciplinary Group (IDG) meetings to update care plans.
• Oversee bereavement support as needed after patient death.
• Collaborate with the clinical team to address spiritual and ethical issues.
• Maintain compliance with regulations and internal policies.

Skills

Pastoral care

Interfaith sensitivity

Counseling

English communication

Education

Formal theological education

Clinical Pastoral Education

Board Certification

Ordination with pastoral ministry

Tools

EMR software

Job description

“It has been my honor and pleasure to spend the last 15-plus years of my professional career in hospice. When I am asked what type of work I do, my response is, ‘I get HUGS for a living.’ I cannot imagine doing anything else, and I feel blessed to have found my way to the rewarding satisfaction of my end-of-life industry involvement.” David Turner, Co-Founder and CEO

At Heart’n Soul Hospice we frequently discuss our missions, within the greater mission, which are to intentionally focus our efforts to ensure that everyone has information and access to high-quality, compassionate care when facing a life-limiting illness. We are seeking qualified individuals to partner with us at Heart’n Soul Hospice who embrace our mission and will allow us to introduce the idea of a career in hospice, even if they may not have considered it previously.

Chaplain

Join the Heart'n Soul Team. Our Soul Food is our patients and families! Our mission is to intentionally focus our efforts to ensure that everyone has information and access to high-quality, compassionate care when facing a life-limiting illness. We seek qualified individuals to partner with us at Heart’n Soul Hospice, embrace our mission and be part of a team that serves a higher purpose- patients and families. We are the Employer of CHOICE, Heart’n Soul’s core values are CHOICE…

• C – Compassion First: We care for every patient and family with empathy, dignity, and kindness.
• H – Heart’n Soul Connections: We create authentic bonds by listening deeply, communicating openly, and honoring every story.
• O – Obligation to Act, Listen, and Honor: We Always GO, Always Listen, Always Honor.
• I – Integrity in All We Do: We build trust through honesty, accountability, and the highest ethical standards.
• C – Commitment to Excellence in Care: We are dedicated to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement in patient care.
• E – Empathy in Every Interaction: Because every story and every moment matters.

Chaplain

What You Must Have:

Advanced pastoral knowledge and competency are required, and this organization recognizes that this knowledge is acquired through multiple pathways. Any one of the following pathways satisfies the qualifications requirement for this position:

• (1) Formal Theological Education: Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Divinity, or equivalent graduate theological degree from an accredited seminary or school of theology; OR
• (2) Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE): Minimum one (1) unit of CPE (400 supervised hours) from an ACPE-accredited program. Four units preferred; OR
• (3) Board Certification: Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) or equivalent credential through APC, NACC, NAJC, or ACPE; OR
• (4) Ordained Ministry with Demonstrated Pastoral Competency: Ordination by a recognized religious body AND a minimum of three (3) years of active pastoral ministry with demonstrated grief, bereavement, or death and dying ministry experience. Documented pastoral leadership, crisis counseling, or hospice/healthcare chaplaincy experience satisfies this pathway. No academic degree is required under this pathway.

Additional Requirements (all pathways):

• Minimum one (1) year of experience in a healthcare setting or with death and dying. Hospice or home health experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrates comfort working in an interfaith and multi-belief setting; ability to provide spiritual care without imposing personal religious beliefs.
• Current State Driver’s License and reliable transportation with valid auto liability insurance required.
• Proficiency with computer systems including EMR software; experience with FireNote preferred.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills required.
• Demonstrated ability to manage an independent caseload with minimal supervision.

What You Will Do:

• Independently manage an assigned caseload of hospice patients, determining visit frequency, scheduling, and pastoral approach for each patient and family based on autonomous spiritual and clinical assessment.
• Conduct individualized spiritual assessments for each patient and family to identify spiritual needs, distress, strengths, and resources across all faith traditions and belief systems.
• Provide professional pastoral counseling, crisis intervention, and emotional support to patients and families in real time, applying independent judgment to determine the appropriate pastoral modality and response for each situation.
• Participate as a peer-level professional contributor in the Interdisciplinary Group (IDG), presenting independent spiritual care assessments and plan of care updates alongside nursing, social work, and clinical leadership.
• Independently manage the bereavement support relationship with families following patient death, determining duration, frequency, and content of bereavement contacts based on own professional assessment of each family’s grief trajectory.
• Collaborate with other clinical team members to resolve spiritual, pastoral, and ethical issues affecting patient care.
• Maintain compliance with all federal and state regulations, Medicare Conditions of Participation, and Heart to Heart internal policies.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

It is this Agency's policy to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, religion, military status, gender preference, sex, marital status, national origin or disability.

I just wanted to personally thank you for your passionate response time, attention to detail and communication with myself. This week I was so moved. With deep gratitude of your teams attention to details. Thank you again for the great staff of Heart’n Soul Hospice we will never forget you.