The Chaplain and the Doctor

At Highland Hospital, Oakland’s level-one trauma center, chaplains and doctors rarely work closely together, but in this involving documentary, eighty-year-old African American chaplain Betty Clark and white Jewish physician Jessica Zitter are exceptions to that generality. Longtime colleagues in the hospital’s Palliative Care Unit, the two women forge a deep bond through their shared commitment to compassionate end-of-life care. Trained in medical science and interventions, Dr. Zitter learns from Chaplain Clark’s wisdom and perspective and begins to see the emotional and spiritual aspects of healing. The film explores the systemic barriers that prevent holistic patient care, particularly for communities of color, as well as the personal transformations both women undergo. When Chaplain Clark faces her own health struggles, Dr. Zitter steps in, seeing firsthand the challenges Black patients endure. The Chaplain and The Doctor is a moving testament to care beyond medicine, where healing honors both body and spirit.