Resident, Chaplain CPE 1st Yr

ECU Health; Greenville (NC); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

ECU Health Medical Center in North Carolina offers a Chaplain CPE Resident position as part of the CPSP accredited residency curriculum, providing direct patient and family care and participating in interdisciplinary teams.

The program emphasizes pastoral conversation, spiritual assessment, and on-call duties after hours and weekends, with exposure to crises, ethics consultations, and meaning-making in a hospital setting. This role supports staff and patients across units.

Qualifications

• Master of Divinity or equivalent theological training required.
• A prior CPE unit from an accredited program is required.
• Experience providing spiritual care in a hospital setting is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct patient and family spiritual care as part of CPSP Residency.
• Work with interdisciplinary teams to implement the care plan.
• Respond to traumas, codes, crises, and after-hours on-call duties.

Skills

Pastoral care

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Crisis theory

Spiritual assessment

Diversity sensitivity

On-call readiness

Education

Master of Divinity

CPE unit (accredited program)

Job description

Position Summary

Chaplain CPE Resident is in training to become a Professional Chaplain, Pastoral Counselor, or a Specialized Minister. Participates fully in CPSP Accredited Residency Program curriculum. Provides direct patient care on assigned units, member of interdisciplinary treatment team, meets spiritual/emotional needs of patients, families and staff. Is On-Call in rotation after hours and on weekends in-house. Responds to all Traumas, Codes, Deaths, Crises, Consults, Referrals and Screens. Also responds to requests for Medical Ethics Consultations.

Responsibilities

The Chaplain Resident has assigned service-line responsibilities and is directed to make contact with each
new admission. This initial contact allows the Resident to make an informed assessment of the patient's
emotional, social and spiritual needs while a patient at ECU Health. The plan of care and follow-up visits are
based on this first contact and the information garnered.
It is the Resident's responsibility to work closely with the interdisciplinary team to follow the plan of care that
will most effectively bring healing to the patient. This requires that the Resident participate in rounds, team
meetings, and professional conversations that facilitate the desired outcome.
The Resident must develop appropriate and professional relationships with staff members on his/her assigned
units. The development of collegial and collaborative skills is an important step in demonstrating professional
competence.
In patient care there are two basic skill sets that are the building blocks of effective Spiritual Care - The Art of
Pastoral Conversation and the Practice of Spiritual Assessment.
Working effectively with diversity is a hallmark for Chaplains, which requires the development of skill sets
around individual differences. The theories of human development, age/mental/emotionally appropriate
strategies, issues related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social, economic, language, and sexuality are all
necessary tools the Resident must learn.
Three of the skill sets required for being on-call are knowledge & understanding of Grief and Loss, a firm grasp
on Crisis Theory and its application, and the ability to engage people in Meaning-Making.
The final skill set needed for the Chaplain Resident is the openness and the motivation to learn and grow. CPE
is based on Adult Learning Theories and the Clinical Method of Learning which is Action, Reflection and New
Action.
The specific skill sets needed by the Residents when working with families and staff is the understanding of
family systems theories and group theories. This provides insight into personality development, assigned roles
in families, and interpersonal dynamics.
Being on-call requires a special set of tools. It makes the Resident responsible for the whole house, alone.
This is a daunting task because this one person is responsible for all Screens, Consults, Referrals, Phone
calls, Codes, Traumas, Deaths, requests for Advanced Directives, Medical Ethics Consults, and Decedent
Care Procedures that occur at ECU Health Medical Center.

Minimum Requirements

Master of Divinity or two years of Master's level theological studies is required.
A previous Unit of CPE is required from an accredited program.

Other Information

Shift Expectations: Rotating Shift with Days, weekends, and nights

ECU Health

About ECU Health Medical Center

ECU Health Medical Center, one of four academic medical centers in North Carolina, is the 974-bed flagship hospital for ECU Health and serves as the primary teaching hospital for The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. ECU Health Medical Center has achieved Magnet designation twice and provides acute and intermediate care, rehabilitation and outpatient health services to a 29-county region that is home to more than 1.4 million people.