Why is loss present but rarely spoken of in the hospital system? How does such silence carry over to the practices of chaplains who accompany dying patients and grieving families? Richard Coble critically examines his experiences as a hospital chaplain to analyze the place of spiritual care in wider trends vexing healthcare today, including its persistent disparities and its related inability to reckon with human decline. Simultaneously, he offers routes for chaplains to be a force of change.
This book explores the work, experience, language, and ambiguity of the profession of chaplaincy, tracing its struggles to professionalize in the hospital while caring for the human experiences of death and decline within its walls.
