Volunteer Chaplain Program
Volunteer chaplains at Rady Children's provide hope and comfort, at a time when it's needed most. By involving clergy in the surrounding community, the Hospital can broaden the spiritual care that can be offered to children and families.
Program Description
Volunteer chaplains are clergy or lay leaders who are ordained, credentialed, appointed and trained by their respective religious bodies. Volunteer chaplains help address the spiritual and religious concerns raised by families during hospitalization.
Chaplaincy provides spiritual care at the Hospital, Rady Children's clinics, and the Bernardy Center (59-bed facility for medically fragile children with extended length of stays). Volunteer chaplains work with our Spiritual Care Department staff for unit assignments and patient referrals. A team approach allows for strong continuity and quality in pastoral care and support.
There is a wide variety of ways a volunteer chaplain may be involved in a case. Some of these include pastoral crisis intervention, spiritual assessment of a case, offering a prayer or blessing, administration of religious rites or sacraments (baptism, dedication of child, communion), ongoing pastoral support for long-term cases, pastoral care during the dying process, and referral to clergy of the family's religion.
There are several ways that volunteer chaplains can serve at Rady Children's. Some of the more common ways are to:
- Designate a regular time commitment each week (between three and six hours) on a regular day to make visitations for spiritual assessment and pastoral support.
- Be on call when the staff chaplain is not available.
- Participate in our Bereavement Support programs.
Volunteer chaplains provide spiritual care on an ecumenical and interfaith basis. Proselytizing, evangelizing or recruitment of members for any congregation while functioning as a volunteer chaplain in the Hospital is considered unethical and is prohibited. While these may be an expression of one's beliefs that are legitimate in other settings, they are considered unethical in this environment due to the vulnerable position of children and families.
Other Ministry Opportunities
In addition to ministry in the main Hospital, there are opportunities for chaplains to work in the Bernardy Center, which cares for our long-term medically fragile children. There is also an opportunity to work with the Hope Bereavement Support program at Rady Children's.
Application Process
To apply, click here for an application. Please fill it out and complete the written sections, then return it by mail to:
Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego
Rev. Ryan Sey, MC 5086
3020 Children's Way
San Diego, CA 92123
Once the application has been received and the applicant is considered qualified, you will be invited to interview. If the applicant is invited to be part of the Volunteer Chaplaincy program, a background check, drug screen and TB test must be completed prior to beginning.
Training and Orientation of Volunteer Chaplains
Understanding that clinical pediatric spiritual care is a ministry subspecialty that requires some additional knowledge and training, there will be a mandatory training and orientation session. In addition, it is mandatory to complete the Hospital's volunteer training program provided through Volunteer Services, which gives a general Hospital orientation and overview of policies and protocols relevant to being a volunteer at Rady Children's.
Thank you for your interest in Volunteer Chaplaincy at Rady Children's. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Ryan Sey at 858-966-7493 or rsey@rchsd.org.
