Clinical Pastoral Education Students Research Articles

Mapping the healthcare chaplaincy workforce: a baseline description

Changing U.S. demographics and the growing emphasis on diversity in the healthcare workforce requires professional healthcare chaplains to examine the characteristics of its own workforce. Previous research suggested that chaplains were mainly Caucasian/White and Mainline Protestant. To explore further, this paper presents a baseline sketch of the workforce and identifies important differences among board-certified chaplains (BCCs), certified educators, certified educator candidates (CECs), and clinical pastoral education (CPE) students. Although missing data quickly became the central story of the analysis and thus requires caution in comparison, the preliminary results suggest BCCs and Certified Educators are older and Whiter/more Caucasian than CECs and CPE students. At least one-third of chaplains and Certified Educators identify as Mainline Protestant, but students and CECs reported greater variation in religious affiliation. Chaplains may be similar to users of healthcare and hospitalized persons in terms of gender and race/ethnicity. Recommendations include suggestions for improving the data infrastructure of professional chaplaincy organizations.

Reflections for Clinical Pastoral Education Students in Psychiatric Settings.

This article focuses on Donald Capps's books on mental illness. In doing so I highlight three key insights from Capps that I have applied in my own ministry with persons with mental illness in various psychiatric hospitals. These insights, together with my own experience as a chaplain, lead to three practical lessons for clinical pastoral education students in psychiatric settings. I provide some context for my interest in mental illness and my friendship with Capps, as well as some background regarding how Capps's writings on mental illness fit with certain broader themes in his own work as a pastoral theologian. This essay is personal throughout.

The Effects of CPE on Primary Relationships--Is It Worth Exploring?

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) can be a life transforming experience for students, but does it also transform students' primary relationships? An online survey of past CPE students at Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia, found that--overall--CPE had a positive effect on primary relations in key areas, in particular communication, intimacy and spirituality. Recent relationships were more negatively affected. Some relationships did not survive CPE. Structural and pedagogical implications require further research.

The ACPE Supervisory Education Process: An Historical Perspective

As the number of Clinical Pastoral Education students increases, supervisors in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) are in short supply due to retirements. We explore factors associated with this supply problem, reporting here four results from our survey of active and retired supervisors. We identify the ages of the current supervisory pool, the ages at which supervisors were certified and the length of time spent in the supervisory education program across the decades. The survey results also identify what supervisors perceive as the most helpful components of their supervisory education. These four results identify trends across the decades that may be associated with the present and future shortages of supervisors.

A Professional Spiritual Care Knowledge Base: Boon or Bane?

An Ideal Intervention Paper was initiated in 2005 to consolidate the learnings of clinical pastoral education students. As papers from students, practitioners, and educators were collected over a period of seven years, it became evident that a knowledge base comprised of this work would expedite the professionalization of clinical chaplaincy via provision of second opinions in difficult cases, education of administrators and the public about the nature of chaplaincy work, and baseline data for effectiveness research—to include replication of effective interventions toward designation of evidence based spiritual care best practices. An online 395-sample knowledge base hosted by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Research Network was amassed, nearly 40 percent of which is the work of experienced practitioners and educators. A pilot effectiveness study of samples failed to produce meaningful results. As an interim measure a content analysis has provided tentative effectiveness ratings until further research can be done.

Interdisciplinary Education in End-of-Life Care: Creating New Opportunities for Social Work, Nursing, and Clinical Pastoral Education Students

This article describes an interdisciplinary, interuniversity program that prepares social work, nursing, and chaplaincy students for competent practice when working with individuals and families facing end-of-life circumstances. Built upon a teaching format that provides knowledge-to-skill-building opportunities, the program immerses students in a range of related content. To maximize integration, the program relies on interdisciplinary team teaching (building knowledge) followed by practice sessions (building skill), in which volunteer actors play the roles of care recipients. With year 3 completed, program administrators have important indicators of the program's effectiveness in offering content specific to end-of-life care using a combination of discipline-specific and interdisciplinary learning strategies. This process has provided valuable lessons related to the nature of interdisciplinary education in end-of-life care.

Change in Pastoral Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Self-reflection, and Social Desirability Across a Unit of CPE

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is experiential learning of the art and science of pastoral care. CPE students increase capacities in psychological strengths such as self-awareness and empathy, and improve skills in interpersonal and inter-professional relationships. Previous research has documented different kinds of change and experiences for students depending on the length of the CPE unit (short/intensive vs. long/extended). The current study involves CPE students who have taken either an intensive unit or an extended unit and compares the average amount of change in pastoral skills, emotional intelligence, self-reflection, and insight while controlling for the influence of social desirability. Intensive and extended unit students were different from each other in terms of age and experience, beginning level of pastoral skill, and amount of change in the measured abilities. Limitations and strengths of this study and the need for future research are discussed.

Relationship building in Clinical Pastoral Education: a Confucian reflection from Asian chaplains.

The authors reflect on the intentional model of relationship building in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and its roots in the Western concept of the self as a rational, autonomous, and bounded agent. They compare the Western idea to the Confucian two-dimensional self orientation as relational as well as autonomous, and discuss possible difficulties that Asian students from Confucian background may encounter entering CPE. The chaplains explore implications and suggestions for how CPE supervisors and students may enter into dialogue in order to create mutual understanding and help Asian students translate CPE learning methods into meaningful cultural contexts.

Dragon talk: providing pastoral care for Chinese immigrants.

This article describes how cultures and pastoral care education processes can be barriers between the patient, the pastoral caregiver, and the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) student. By providing sketches of interviews with Chinese patients, the author tries to explain why the attempt to unveil Chinese patients' feelings and needs through conversation can be a frustrating experience. Moreover, the author argues that the pedagogy of pastoral care education ought to be more culturally sensitive in regard to the diverse cultural backgrounds of both patients and CPE students.

An Adaptation of The Discipline in a Clinical Pastoral Education Program

SUMMARY The author describes his perspective on providing pastoral care to hospital patients, his search for new ways to understand that ministry, his first contact with The Discipline, and his adaptation of it to the clinical and educational programs at his center. He discusses the need to help clinical pastoral education students to operationalize their ministry and to learn how to identify outcomes that are meaningful to health care decision makers.

Addressing the Whirlwind: A Conversation about Clinical Pastoral Education, Geriatrics, Group Process, and Art Therapy

Records an imaginary conversation among a group of seasoned CPE supervisors on the theme of new and exciting dimensions to the supervision of Clinical Pastoral Education students.

Screening Patients for Pastoral Care: A Preliminary Report

In the healthcare reform environment it is imperative that chaplains redesign how pastoral care is conducted in ways that are more efficient and effective. One model is to screen patients to identify those who want or need pastoral care. Another model is using referrals from other healthcare staff. This article describes an attempt to combine these two models using volunteers and Basic Clinical Pastoral Education students. Under pressure of healthcare reform, healthcare providers and professionals are reassessing how they do their work. This is true of chaplaincy as well. This article is a preliminary report on one attempt at re-designing how pastoral care is conducted by a Department of Pastoral Services at a academic medical center in the East.

Affective and Congnitive Changes in First-Unit Clinical Pastoral Education Students

Reports the research findings of a study designed to answer two questions: What do Clinical Pastoral Education students learn? What changes result from the CPE experience? Presents statistical results of a test-retest design in which three paper-and-pencil instruments are employed. Discusses the results of the research and urges additional research.

Instruments used to measure change in students preparing for ministry: a summary of research on clinical pastoral education students.

Surveys studies in which psychometric tools were used in an attempt to measure change in students as a result of their participation in Clinical Pastoral Education. Gives special attention to the use of The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the Personality Orientation Inventory, Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, the Adjective Check List, the Osgood Semantic Differential, Cattells' Sixteen Personality Factor Test, Leary's System for Interpersonal Diagnosis, the Carkhuff Scale, and The Empathy Test. Notes positive as well as limiting factors of research in which psychometric instruments have been used.

The image of the hospice chaplain.

In the author's twenty-five years of supervising Clinical Pastoral Education students, a strong emphasis on how to facilitate grief work and how to minister to the dying has been an important element in the students' effective work as parish clergy, institutional chaplains and pastoral counselors. An analysis of more subjective aspects of their CPE experiences indicates that equally important are images that the chaplain represents to the patient, family or staff. Three excerpts from verbatim patient interviews are used to illustrate the place that transferred meanings of the Church, of God, and of the source for dealing with ultimate questions, play in the role of chaplain.

An analysis of CPE student time usage: the impact of training.

Reports results of a research project on a population of 81 Clinical pastoral Education students. Correlates demographic, training, and emotional variables with time usage. Discusses and interprets data and draws implications for CPE Supervisors and for CPE training programs.

A comparative evaluation of changes in basic clinical pastoral education students in different types of clinical settings as measured by the adjective check list and the experience scale.

Utilizes the Adjective Check List, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a critical incident report, and a demographic questionnaire to test students in twenty basic CPE units in a before-and-after research design. Various statistical analyses indicate that Basic Unit CPE students in several types of CPE settings tend to perceive themselves in a more positive and less defensive way following the CPE experience. Describes and tests several other hypotheses relative to the specific settings in which CPE takes place. Suggests additional research possibilities.