Healthcare Chaplaincy Ethics Flashcards
7 cards from real ACC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Healthcare Chaplaincy Ethics flashcards as text
A chaplain who experiences strong secondary trauma after working extensively in a pediatric ICU should first:
Answer: Seek clinical supervision, peer support, or personal counseling
Self-care and seeking support are ethical obligations that protect both the chaplain's wellbeing and the quality of patient care.
A patient in psychiatric hold asks the chaplain not to document the visit in the chart. The chaplain should:
Answer: Explain that visit documentation may be required by institutional policy while respecting clinical note boundaries
Chaplains must balance institutional documentation requirements with sensitivity to what belongs in clinical records, explaining policy transparently to patients.
The ethical concept of 'fidelity' in chaplaincy practice refers to:
Answer: Keeping promises and honoring commitments made to patients
Fidelity means being trustworthy and keeping commitments, which is foundational to the therapeutic chaplain-patient relationship.
A research team asks a chaplain to recruit vulnerable dying patients for a study on near-death experiences. The chaplain's ethical concern should focus on:
Answer: Protection of a vulnerable population from potential exploitation and undue influence
Ethical research protections are especially critical with vulnerable populations, and chaplains must guard against exploitation of those in their pastoral care.
When a patient's surrogate decision-maker makes choices the chaplain believes do not reflect the patient's previously expressed values, the most appropriate chaplain response is to:
Answer: Explore the patient's known values with the surrogate through reflective conversation
Chaplains help surrogates reconnect with the patient's known values through conversation rather than overriding or passively accepting questionable decisions.
In managing moral distress as a chaplain, which action is most consistent with professional ethical standards?
Answer: Naming the distress in clinical supervision or peer consultation
Professional supervision and peer consultation are the appropriate channels for processing moral distress without burdening patients or misusing formal complaint mechanisms.
A hospital is considering a policy that would prohibit chaplains from praying with patients. A chaplain's ethical advocacy should primarily emphasize:
Answer: Evidence of patient-centered spiritual care outcomes and institutional mission alignment
Advocacy for chaplaincy practices is most effective when grounded in patient care evidence and alignment with the institution's stated mission.