AUTHOR=Spates Stephen A. , Kingsley Westerman Catherine Y. , Laam Leslie A. , Goke Ryan TITLE=Exploring Challenges of Hospital Chaplains in Transdisciplinary Teams JOURNAL=Frontiers in Communication VOLUME=5 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2020.582626 DOI=10.3389/fcomm.2020.582626 ISSN=2297-900X ABSTRACT=

Hospital chaplains experience obstacles in contributing to team objectives when a part of transdisciplinary teams. This case study explores the communication challenges of membership on transdisciplinary teams for hospital chaplains, using a fictional account based on data from a previous study. Chaplain David Howard is one of three chaplains at Grace Hospital and is assigned to the newly formed palliative care transdisciplinary team. The purpose of this team is to work towards providing quality care to patients in the upcoming integrative medicine wing. Although the team is tasked with improving the quality of life for patients, David notices that his concerns of quality care often clash with his medical colleagues' concerns about improved medical health outcomes. As the team's differing perspectives are revealed, it is evident that their communication is crucial to their ability to work together successfully.