COVID-19 and Clinical Pastoral Education: How ACPE Educators Pivoted Amid the Pandemic

Abstract

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.

Delivering Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Remotely: Educators’ Views and Perspectives During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

“…Congruent with our previous quantitative findings (Szilagyi, Tartaglia et al, 2022), the qualitative data identified consultation from ACPE member Communities of Practice (CoP) as a key resource for educators. Many viewed this as such an important source of support that they planned to maintain newly formed connections with their CoP postpandemic.…”

“…The informed consent process was completed electronically at the beginning of the survey. Survey development and recruitment methods were further detailed in Szilagyi, Tartaglia et al (2022). The research protocol was reviewed and acknowledged as an exempt study by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Institutional Review Board (IRB00271136).…”

“…Regarding spiritual care education in the COVID-19 era, [Szilagyi, Tartaglia et al, 2022] detailed ACPE-certified 1 educators' substantial and sudden shift to remote CPE and the resources they utilized to maintain program delivery during the pandemic. A recent special edition of the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling included multiple articles based on an international survey on the impact of COVID-19 on professional chaplaincy.…”

Chaplain Development in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Healthcare Settings in England: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Finally, participants reported positive student experiences while acknowledging the challenging aspects of the CPE course structure: balancing the demands of CPE and their work responsibilities, the course's pace, and in-person and online interactions. Parallel to participants' opinions on online and in-person CPE learning, CPE educators and students the USA reported certain benefits of online or hybrid modalities: ensuring access to CPE; not reducing the quality of learning; and being as effective as inperson CPE [42][43][44]. However, they desired more in-person interaction and found online learning not without limitations [42,43].…”

“…Parallel to participants' opinions on online and in-person CPE learning, CPE educators and students the USA reported certain benefits of online or hybrid modalities: ensuring access to CPE; not reducing the quality of learning; and being as effective as inperson CPE [42][43][44]. However, they desired more in-person interaction and found online learning not without limitations [42,43].…”