Conversation as a Bridging Tool in End of Life Spiritual Care

Abstract

End of life care is a holistic approach to the provision of treatment and support for dying patients and families. It focuses on four dimensions: the physical, social, psychological and spiritual. In relation to the latter dimension, healthcare professionals are joined by spiritual care specialists, namely, chaplains. Even though great strides have been made towards holistic provision, chaplains remain marginalized. This article focuses on one essential yet often overlooked tool utilized by chaplains in spiritual care, and it showcases the fundamental importance of the practice in holistic end of life delivery, using Hong Kong chaplaincy as a case study: conversation as a bridging tool. Specifically, I focus on three distinctive aspects: conversation to overcome the challenges created by the chaplain’s role ambiguity, conversation to bridge cultural and linguistic limitations, and conversation to address death anxieties through narrational encounters, including conversations about dreams. Despite the value of conversation in end of life care, this article illustrates that the wider hospital care team has a strong negative perception of chaplains’ use of conversation, contributing to the marginalized status of chaplains.