Spiritual Care with AI
Considering a platform to deploy AI services for chaplains to enhance healing within the Clinic
We imagine that, in the distant future, some patients (and some people generally) will feel comfortable confiding in AI as a non-human confidant. For example, they might use AI to help with understanding their situation. Furthermore, this might feel easier if they can do it without feeling that they are burdening hospital staff.
For some people, being vulnerable with a machine - discussing difficult topics - might feel less embarrassing than discussing them with a human.
We envision researching and developing a prototype platform to deploy AI services such as chat, screening, planning, document summarisation and brainstorming tools. Chaplains could use these tools within various healthcare locations (healthcare systems).
Content and Priorities for such a Project
One challenge (and opportunity) for this project, beyond demonstrating the beauty and effectiveness of using AI in chaplaincy, is to change the trajectory of chaplaincy in embracing technology. Just like other professionals, chaplains already find that AI can help to streamline workflows by making tasks like data, research and outcome oriented work more manageable.
Familiarizing oneself with AI technology is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. As AI becomes a standard tool across industries, spiritual care professionals who understand and use AI enhance their services not only for the patients, family and loved ones but also their colleagues.
The good news for chaplains is that we don’t have to be a tech genius to benefit from AI. It’s about leveraging the technology to enhance existing skills.
Spiritual Care Screening
An easy way AI can help not only chaplains but also the entire care team is getting time back for staff by automating spiritual care screening for distress, anxiety, emotional needs and/or cultural and religious needs. Among other things, this type of screening includes, spiritual history Inventory. I think we have an opportunity to create a Seamless Spiritual History Inventory.
Spiritual Assessment
Spiritual assessment is not a new activity for caregivers. When providing care, we chaplains usually think about the needs of the person with whom we are working. Spiritual assessment is the process of discerning their spiritual needs and resources. Unlike diagnostic models in many medical fields, in Spiritual Care our assessment model does not exclusively focus on problems. It also assesses the resources people bring to help them cope with those problems.
Spiritual assessment improves a chaplain’s ability to be accountable for spiritual care.
What are the goals of our care with a particular person?
How do we know if the care we are providing is the care the person needs?
What can help us guard against projecting our needs and assumptions onto the person we are caring for?
In order to answer these important questions we require a way to describe the Spiritual Care we think a person needs. We can then provide that care and see if it has the effect we expected. Hence, Spiritual Assessment is the foundation for
Guiding care
Communicating with colleagues
Evaluating care
By harnessing an AI platform for spiritual assessment, chaplains can provide timely care for patients, family and staff.
Timely care
Assessing and responding to the spiritual and existential concerns of patients, families, and staff in the healthcare setting in a timely manner is both very important and very hard. With AI, we have an opportunity to adapt, enabling us to provide more of the interventions we would like to provide. This greatly helps our patients and our colleagues.
In the process, we will provide for many what Spiritual Care is all about: Finding peace, hope, forgiveness, healing, connection, and meaning . This can be through collaboration with clinical and non-clinical colleagues, talking, listening, meditation, prayer, mindfulness, advocating or offering guidance, as needed.
AI is not about replacing a chaplain’s effort, but augmenting it.
Conclusion
In the age of AI, spiritual care/practices, especially in clinics will be a fertile space for innovation. AI (and the other tools that we already use today) is not about replacing Chaplain’s effort but augmenting it.
Such a project has and opportunity to learn, adapt and deploy services by continually learning how to leverage AI effectively. Chaplains can enhance their capabilities, allowing us to focus on more strategic tasks while AI handles the repetitive or data-heavy components.