The Locum Life in Spiritual Health Care – Is It for Me? Is It for You?

A Brief Personal Reflection

Abstract

This article is a brief consideration from an individual perspective about locum spiritual care practice gained from experience working in psychiatric and geriatric units, emergency departments and neurological disease wards. The article addresses questions such as, “What is it like being a locum?” “What are some of the issues for the locum practitioner, the organization, the field of spiritual care?” Locum work in the spiritual care field is not new, but the ongoing professional development of spiritual care as a recognized professional discipline requires it to be carefully examined in the light of best practice spiritual care in the healthcare sector. A version of this personal reflection was originally presented at the Spiritual Care Australia national conference, “Inspiration in Diversity: The Shifting Sands of Spiritual Care” (SCA, Melbourne 2016).