Pastoral Practitioner

Your role at St John of God Bendigo Hospital:

We are currently seeking a Pastoral Practitioner to join our team at Bendigo Hospital on a part time Casual basis.

As a Pastoral Practitioner, you will work as an integral member of the multidisciplinary team for the provision of holistic, contemporary pastoral services to patients and clients, and be responsible for the provision of emotional and spiritual support, theological reflection, ritual facilitation, faith/belief integration, establishing pastoral therapeutic relationships, trauma and grief counselling and bereavement support.

The Position requirements

• Demonstrated capability and competence in the establishment of therapeutic pastoral relationships with patients and clients from a variety of faith, cultural and social backgrounds.

• Identify and respond to the spiritual needs of patients/clients and families, which facilitates spiritual maturity, theological reflection and emotional intelligence.

• Assess and reflect on patient/client’s verbal and non-verbal communication.

• Employ active listening skills to respond compassionately to client’s needs.

• Establish appropriate professional boundaries according to scope of practice and contribute positively to the multidisciplinary team.

• Maintain intentional personal reflective practice and participate in and facilitate team reflective practice.

• Promote and engage in orientation and mentoring of new team members and students

• Integrate quality and risk principles into spiritual care practice.

• Advocate for patients/clients and families where stated priorities and best interests are not being recognised.

• Work independently in routine cases of spiritual assessment, care plans and related interventions.

• Provide bereavement support, as per best practice.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with demonstrated capacity in delivering ritual, liturgy, prayer or reflection that respects others cultural and religious beliefs.

Successful applicants will have:

• Completed or be working towards a tertiary level qualification/study in a relevant field (such as Social Work, Counselling, Pastoral, Nursing), and/or

•  Have prior experience in the provision of pastoral care in a relevant setting. This will include a SJGHC pastoral internship program and/or a supervised pastoral field placement and professional development courses relevant to pastoral practice. Meeting these criteria is essential.

• Flexibility with working hours / days

Above all, patient care will be at the core of everything you do committing to and supporting our Mission and Values.

At St John of God Health Care, we celebrate diversity and warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

Our commitment is to create a safe and nurturing environment for all children and vulnerable individuals in our care and proactively take steps to protect them from abuse, ensuring their safety and well-being.

Our inclusive culture fosters an environment that is respectful and secure, welcoming and accessible, and unified through our diverse community.

All caregivers employed by St John of God Health Care are required to be vaccinated from Influenza in order to fulfil the requirements of the role.