CCCHAPS Academy · Track Three
Hospice Chaplaincy
Practicing From Diagnosis to Goodbye
See the Person. Hear the Voice. Honor the Journey.
Track Three is an applied hospice chaplaincy pathway for pastors, chaplains, ministers, and spiritual-care providers who want to take the principles presented in From Diagnosis to Goodbye and learn how to practice them in real hospice ministry.
Start With HOSP-001
See the Person First
An Introduction to Patient-Centered Hospice Chaplaincy
Experience the patient-centered teaching approach behind Track Three through this free introductory course. Learn why hospice chaplaincy begins by seeing the person, hearing the patient's voice, and understanding the experience before deciding how to respond.
35–45 minutes · Online · Self-Paced · Free
Optional Live Discussion
From the Book to the Bedside — Live
From the Book to the Bedside — Live gives HOSP-001 learners an opportunity to participate in interactive online discussions with Chaplain Derrick Hall, including hospice case scenarios, questions, and practical application of the patient-centered principles introduced in the course.
Live sessions are optional. HOSP-001 remains fully self-paced and can be completed without attending a live session.
Future session dates and access information are provided to enrolled HOSP-001 learners when available. Start HOSP-001 for free to receive session updates.
The Track Three posture
From the book to the bedside.
Track Three trains a way of being present with the dying and their families that translates a hospice chaplaincy philosophy into everyday practice. It is not a theology course, not a preaching course, and not a book study — it is applied hospice ministry.
See the Person
Practice attention that goes beyond diagnosis, prognosis, and paperwork — noticing the patient, the family, and the story behind the bedside.
Hear the Voice
Learn how to listen without agenda so patients and loved ones can say what they actually need to say — including the things they cannot say to anyone else.
Honor the Journey
Walk with people through decline, decision-making, farewells, and grief in a way that is patient-centered, belief-respectful, and never rushed.
Applied hospice practice
Skills for the end-of-life journey.
Track Three focuses on what hospice chaplaincy actually looks like — moment by moment — from admission through the final visit and the family's grief that follows.
- Applying From Diagnosis to Goodbye principles at the bedside
- Presence with patients through cognitive, physical, and emotional decline
- Compassionate conversations about goals of care and end-of-life wishes
- Supporting family systems through anticipatory grief
- Working alongside hospice interdisciplinary teams (nursing, social work, medical, aides)
- Recognizing when a family needs silence, ritual, prayer, or simply company
- Cultural and belief-system sensitivity in hospice contexts
- Boundaries between chaplain care, clinical care, and pastoral referral
- Documentation and communication appropriate to hospice practice
- Bereavement follow-up and post-death family support
- Sustaining the chaplain: compassion fatigue, grief accumulation, and self-care
Who Track Three is for
An applied specialty pathway.
Hospice and palliative-care chaplains
Currently serving in hospice or palliative settings and wanting to sharpen applied, patient-centered chaplaincy skills.
Pastors and ministers preparing for hospice work
Called to walk with the dying and their families, and looking for a practical framework beyond the pulpit.
Spiritual-care providers in senior living, memory care, or home health
Regularly encountering end-of-life realities and seeking a hospice-informed way of showing up.
Experienced chaplains extending into hospice
Bringing established chaplaincy or ministry experience into a specialty pathway focused on the end-of-life journey.
Scope
What Track Three is not.
Naming the scope helps applicants find the right fit. Track Three is a focused, applied hospice chaplaincy pathway.
- A general workplace chaplaincy course
- A book study or reading group
- A preaching or sermon-preparation course
- A theological or systematic-theology course
Foundational text
From Diagnosis to Goodbye
Track Three is anchored in the framework laid out in the book. The book alone will move you; Track Three helps you practice it in real hospice ministry.
Track Three is offered within the CCCHAPS Chaplain Training Academy as a specialty pathway. Details about schedule, format, and future opportunities will be shared as Track Three offerings are scheduled. Track Three does not carry certification, continuing-education credit, licensure, or accreditation, and completion does not guarantee employment or placement.
Interested in the Hospice Chaplaincy Track?
Reach out to the CCCHAPS team to talk about Track Three, or explore the broader Chaplain Training Academy.