Is there a chaplain in your clinic?

Abstract

As medical care continues to move outside the hospitals, clients with spiritual needs are more often to be found in clinics and doctors' offices than inpatient settings. Chaplains in partnership with physicians can contribute to healing in outpatient centers. A study of one group of clinic patients indicates that an outpatient setting may be a better place to address spiritual needs than a hospital setting. Pastoral interventions are acceptable to many clients, who according to statistics are already using alternative therapies to augment traditional medical care.