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Sigfinnur Þorleifsson For the last seventeen years I have been serving as a hospital chaplain in Reykjavík. When I started working we had three hospitals in Reykjavík and I was the only chaplain. From that time on the chaplaincy has been steadily growing and at the same time the hospitals have become fewer and larger. Now we have only one big general hospital in Reykjavík (Landspítali Háskólasjúkrahús, The University Hospital of Iceland) and we are eight working there in the chaplaincy team: seven pastors and one deaconess. There are about 1000 beds in the hospital, so the standards are rather high. All of us are employees of the hospital, but the bishop of the Lutheran Church (the national church to which 90% of the population belongs) is our bishop and we are responsible to him in regards to our teaching. When the board of hospital advertises for a new chaplain there is a committee of three set up to interview the candidates, with one member from the hospital, one from the bishop and one from the professional field of chaplaincy. They list them in respect of their professional ability and the bishop gives his advice and recommendation, but the board of the hospital makes the final decision and ensures that the professional standards are fulfilled. In the hospital setting a chaplain works mainly with the patients, but also with the relatives and staff. He/she supports those who have severe difficulties because of losses, due to failing health, accidents, dying, sudden death etc. He/she offers spiritual support to people (patients, families and staff) who are dealing with crises, stress and agony. He/she conducts services, gives lectures (for the staff), participates in different committees, like on ethical matters etc. The hospital chaplain is on-call and he/she is present at the death bed of a patients, when serious accident happens and when people get bad news etc. For the last two years we have tried at the University Hospital to make an accurate record of our work load - which is impossible, but an important task anyway. To do so we have counted the counselling dialogues, the calls we have had when off duty (from 17.00 to 0800 hours and at weekends), the Sunday and midweek services, services at the death bed, hours spent in meetings and so on. What we have showed with these figures has been the strongest argument when we have asked for increased financial support from the hospital board. In the field of pastoral care and counselling most of us have got our theological training (the degree of cand. Theol.) from the University of Iceland. We have then taken CPE either in the States or in Sweden and Norway. We have three deaconesses working at a nursing home in Reykjavík (Sóltún). In the rural area of Iceland there is only one chaplain (at the Hospital in Akureyri), but the local ministers take care of the pastoral care and counselling in other places. The Lutheran Church of Iceland is also providing chaplaincy to prisoners, handicapped and mute people (three chaplains). So all together there are fifteen pastors/deaconesses working full-time in the field of chaplaincy in Iceland. Sigfinnur Þorleifsson
[May 2002] |
Health Care Chaplaincy in Iceland