Evolving from a student's need and interest to learn in different ways at different paces, guided by self, peers, Certified Educators and written evaluations. It is informed by theological, philosophical, cultural and psychosocial understandings of humanity and spiritual care.

Directed toward the development and integration of the student's own gifts and limitations, awareness of self in relation to others and the ability to use a variety of learning resources.

Clinical pastoral education introduces the students to areas of spiritual formation and integration, awareness of self and others, relational dynamics, spiritual care interventions, and professional development. Students will also learn how to use theoretical tools to provide care to persons, family and staff facing the continuum of health and illness. The program's objectives occur within the structure of ACPE standards, which include areas of professional development in chaplaincy and other relevant areas of spiritual care.

The clinical setting of the hospital is the primary teacher for students. Each student interacts and provides care in a clinical area(s) within the hospital that coincides with their own learning covenant. These clinical areas include adult trauma, pediatrics, burn, and adult acute care units.

Students are responsible for providing spiritual care through patient/family visitation, collaborative relational development with the health care team, and overnight on-call rotations. This unique opportunity provides various experiences in which the student has an opportunity to establish a basic level of trust, which in turn fosters an openness to learning and experiencing deeper relationships, varied lifestyles, beliefs, and self-knowledge. This can serve to help the student in identifying, developing, and differentiating their own unique practice of spiritual care.

Didactic seminars facilitate a working knowledge of spiritual care content, personality theory, leadership development, cultural/gender theory and medical practice. This understanding of humanity informs, enhances, or limits the student's spiritual care work.

Group provides a time for students to share their thoughts and feelings about working with patients, families, staff, other students, and the Certified Educator. The purpose is to help the student become aware of how they receive and respond to support, clarification, and confrontation with regard to their own attitudes, values, and beliefs. Group supervision includes the Interpersonal Relations (IPR) group, verbatim seminar, belief and practice seminar, theory and practice seminar, and ethics case studies (residents only).

This is a weekly time between student and Certified Educator to individualize, integrate and plan opportunities for personal/professional growth. As active partners in the learning process, the student is invited to take significant responsibility for initiating issues that are important for learning and seeking feedback/consultation regarding these issues.

Students are matched with a chaplain resident or staff chaplain who serves as their clinical mentor. The clinical mentor helps bridge the gap between the skills and knowledge taught in the educational activities of the CPE program and how these skills and knowledge are utilized and integrated into the real environment of healthcare.

Throughout the unit, students are required to read on a variety of topics. Some of these assignments arise from the individual supervisory conference. Others focus on the student’s work in a specific area of healthcare. The primary focus in reading is on the student’s areas of need or interest, as well as reading that supports the concepts and theories presented. 

At the beginning of each unit of training, a covenant of learning is developed and completed as mutually agreed upon by the student and Certified Educator. The covenant is open to negotiation as the need arises and the student becomes aware of new ways to enrich their spiritual care formation and reflection.

Learning reflections on the student’s spiritual care are written every week, and students present several verbatim accounts of clinical encounters during each unit. These tools of assessment and reflection are submitted for both group and individual supervision as part of the ongoing process of patient care. These serve to strengthen self-awareness, self-confidence, and professional competence in delivering effective spiritual care.

The Clinical Pastoral Education Program at Community Regional offers an ongoing process of self-directed, experiential spiritual care education. All single-unit CPE programs generally fulfill the requirements of seminaries and denominational requirements for CPE.

The First-Year CPE Residency is composed of four students. It is specifically designed to assist graduates of the program to become certified by The Association of Professional Chaplains, the National Association for Catholic Chaplains, the National Association for Jewish Chaplains, and other certifying groups. 

This year-long, full-time program is divided into four units of CPE, and each unit has a distinct focus on aspects of spiritual care. In the first unit, residents will focus on spiritual assessment, where they study theories on grief, trauma, family systems, addiction, mental health, pediatric spiritual care, and more. In the second unit, they study cultural dynamics and personality development in order to integrate the insights and knowledge of the behavioral sciences into the practice of spiritual care. The third unit focuses on meaning-making. In the fourth unit, residents will be given the opportunity to specialize in some clinical area of the hospital. The fourth unit also focuses on clinical ethics and life beyond CPE (interviewing for jobs, board certification, etc.).

• Tuition for a residency: $2,400 ($600 per unit)
• First-Year Residency stipend: Hourly pay of $20.41/hr ($42,452/annually) + call pay
  • First day medical, dental, vision and flexible spending accounts available

The Second-Year Residency is composed of one student who joins the First-Year Residents for all group education. In this second year, the resident focuses on emergency/trauma and intensive care chaplaincy. Special attention is given to interdisciplinary collaboration, trauma-informed spiritual care, and board certification. 

The Palliative Care Fellowship is composed of one student who joins all residents for group education. This fellow works exclusively with the palliative care team at Community Regional and conducts the majority of their workflow within a broader palliative care team consisting of physicians, nurses, social workers, and nurse practitioners. During this fellowship, special attention is given to relationship building, plan of care skills, and focus on the Foundational Skills for All Chaplains with the Center to Advance Palliative Care. During this fellowship, the palliative care fellow is mentored by a palliative care chaplain and receives CPE supervision from our ACPE Certified Educator.

The summer program is primarily for seminary and graduate school students who are looking to complete a unit of CPE in the summer. The program is largely designed to assist students who are learning about theology/philosophy to increase their spiritual care skills by working directly with patients, families, and hospital staff during life-changing events. The program runs for 12 weeks and meets twice a week for group education. Education seminars are scheduled throughout the week, with time built into the schedule for clinical rounding in the hospital. The remaining required clinical hours are obtained by working 8-hour shifts between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. (depending on the student’s preference and availability). 

Tuition for a single-unit internship: $600

Certified Educator CPE is designed for qualified persons with demonstrated pastoral, professional, and clinical competence. Certified Educator CPE students engage in a three-year residency program designed to teach them the art of pastoral supervision through education in supervisory theories by using conceptual models drawn from theology, behavioral science and education. Students will practice under the supervision of a CPE Certified Educator. They will form their identity as educators through a focus on integrating theory and practice with their distinct, personal attributes and life history. They will also learn through peer group seminars where the emerging supervisor's understanding and practice are tested and modified.