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Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs faced extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined how ACPE-certified educators responded to maintain program delivery. Survey results ( n = 210) suggested a substantial and abrupt increase in remote delivery for CPE instruction and supervised clinical practice, primarily driven by those previously fully in-person. Respondents reported abrupt changes impacted 1152 students. Participants rated their utilization and helpfulness of professional, organizational, and technology resources during the pivot and beyond.

IntroductionDespite many patients wanting physicians to inquire about their religious/spiritual beliefs, most physicians do not make such inquiries. Among physicians who do, surgeons are less likely than family and general practitioners and psychiatrists to do so.MethodsTo address this gap, we developed a 60-minute curriculum that follows the Kolb cycle of experiential learning for third-year medical students on their surgery/anesthesiology clerkship. The session includes definitions of religion/spirituality, an overview of the literature on spirituality in surgery, a review of the FICA Spiritual History Tool, discussion of the role of the chaplain and the process of initiating a chaplain consult, and three cases regarding the spiritual needs of surgical patients.ResultsIn total, 165 students participated in 10 sessions over 13 months. Of these, 120 students (73%) provided short-term feedback. Overall, 82% rated the session above average or excellent, and 72% stated the session was very relevant to patient care. To improve the session, students recommended assigning key readings, discussing more cases, role-playing various scenarios, inviting patients to speak, practicing mock interviews, and allowing for more self-reflection and discussion. Long-term feedback was provided by 105 students (64%) and indicated that the spirituality session impacted their attitudes about the role of religion/spirituality in medicine and their behaviors with patients.DiscussionWe have designed a successful session on spirituality for third-year students on their surgery/anesthesiology clerkship. Students reported it to be a positive addition to the curriculum. The session can be modified for other surgical subspecialties and specialties outside of surgery.

Analysis of Covariance was conducted on quantitative data collected by chaplains from January 2005 to December 2008. Data from 82 Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant chaplains, consisting of 53 CPE students and 29 professional chaplains were used in this study. Overall, chaplains exhibited a statistically significant higher rate of prayer with patients from their own religion (religious concordance) than they did with patients of different religions (religious discordance). There was also an interaction of chaplain religion and religious concordance wherein Protestant chaplains were 50% more likely to pray with Protestant patients than withThis research was supported, in part, by a Health Care Improvement Grant from the United Hospital Fund, of New York, and funding from the John Templeton Foundation. The authors also wish to thank Research Librarian, Helen P. Tannenbaum, for her assistance in conducting the literature search.Address correspondence to Kathleen Galek, Ph.D., Healthcare Chaplaincy, 307 E. 60th Street, New York, NY 10022. E-mail: kgalek@healthcarechaplaincy.org patients of other religions, and Catholic chaplains were 20% more likely to pray with Catholic patients than with other patients. Chaplains were also significantly more likely to pray with patients of their own gender (gender concordance) than with patients of the other gender (gender discordance). Journal of HealthCare Chaplaincy, 16:42-52, 2010 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group