Congratulations, Dr. Csaba Szilagyi!

Congratulations, Dr. Szilagyi, on defending your dissertation on chaplains' collaborative leadership! We recognize this important achievement and your dedication to making valuable contributions to the field. Wishing you all the best in future investigations and your leadership as the Director of Transforming Chaplaincy. To learn more about a central part of this dissertation research, we invite everyone to join our upcoming TC webinar on 1/20.

New Publications

An E-Delphi Study on Integrated Curriculum Standards for Healthcare Chaplaincy Education

Healthcare chaplaincy education in the United States has lacked consistent curricular expectations, resulting in significant variation in preparation for clinical practice. Using a modified e-Delphi process, this study engaged a multidisciplinary panel of experts in a three-round consensus-building effort across core academic and clinical domains. The paper presents a first-of-its-kind set of curriculum standards that intentionally integrate academic and clinical education for healthcare chaplains, with strong agreement across all competencies. These standards can be used both to strengthen existing academic programs in healthcare chaplaincy and to design new, innovative educational programs that integrate academic and clinical learning.

Please note: Dr. Fleenor's research will be featured for the first episode of Webinar Journal Club (below).

Fleenor, D. W., Tartaglia, A., Haythorn, T., Rambo, S., & Fitchett, G. (2026). An e-Delphi study on integrated curriculum standards for healthcare chaplaincy education. Journal of health care chaplaincy, 1–21. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854726.2025.2606040 (free article)

A Qualitative Study of Chaplains Spiritual Care for Persons with Dementia in Long-Term Care

Chaplains are essential for the practice of spiritual care in long-term care, especially for residents living with dementia. This investigation involved six focus groups with 16 chaplains among U.S. facilities, identifying their practices, challenges, and adaptations. The results reveal the broad and varied chaplaincy roles in caring for residents, families, and staff as well as the dementia-specific spiritual care strategies. These findings underscore the need for dementia-informed chaplaincy training and to enhance integration with interprofessional team members.  

Masko, M. K., McEvoy, S., Kwak, J., Lyndes, K., Torke, A. M., Varner Perez, S., & Fitchett, G. (2025). A Qualitative Study of Chaplains Spiritual Care for Persons With Dementia in Long-Term Care. Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society, 7334648251408543. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648251408543

Upcoming Webinars

Collaborative Leadership of Chaplains in Interprofessional Healthcare
January 20,1-2 pm (CST)

This webinar examines how healthcare chaplains function as collaborators and leaders within interprofessional care teams, drawing on findings from a comprehensive scoping review. We identify six collaborative roles and five distinct leadership functions that most chaplains perform, contributing to whole-person care and collaborative practice. The session explores relational, organizational, and professional factors that shape chaplains' effectiveness as team members and leaders in healthcare settings. Participants will gain evidence-based insights into strengthening chaplaincy integration and enhancing interprofessional collaboration in clinical practice.

Presenters:
Csaba Szilagyi, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Research, Department of Religion, Health and Human Values, Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) and Director, Transforming Chaplaincy
​
Amanda Borchik, MDiv, BCC, Staff Researcher, Transforming Chaplaincy, Department of Religion, Health and Human Values, (RUMC) and Pediatric Chaplain at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

Anne Vandenhoeck, PhD, Professor, KU Leuven

Spirituality and Medical Rehabilitation
January 28, 3-4 pm (CST)

George Fitchett and Kate Fiona Jones have just published a chapter* that reviews the research about the role of religion and spirituality (R/S) in coping with traumatic injury including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and stroke. In this webinar they will highlight the existing research about positive role of R/S coping and the harmful effects of R/S struggle for these patients. They will summarize the research about spiritual care for these patients and spiritual care training for rehabilitation professionals. They will conclude with a discussion of areas for future research.
​
​Presenters:
George Fitchett, PhD, Professor, Department of Religion, Health & Human Values, Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) and Senior Advisor, Transforming Chaplaincy

Kate Fiona Jones, PhD, Social Worker, Older People's Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, Australia, and Adjunct Faculty, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, Australia

Respondent:
Sheila Dugan, MD, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, RUMC

*George Fitchett and Kate Fiona Jones, Spirituality and Medical Rehabilitation, In J. R. Webb (Ed), Handbook of Spirituality, Health, and Well-Being: A Psychological Perspective. Routledge, 2026.

Development of the Dutch Chaplaincy Outcome Measure
February 19, 11 AM - Noon (CST)

Save the date and watch for more details.

Palliative Care Chaplain Researchers Selected for the Guideline Expert Panel for the 5th Edition of the NCP Guidelines

Congratulations to Allison Kestenbaum, Sarah Byrne-Martelli, and Paul Galchutt, Transforming Chaplaincy's Assistant Director for Engagement, in being selected for the the 5th Edition of the National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care. They are among 33 expert interprofessional and patient/family advocate panelists who will continue to build on the eight core domains of quality palliative care while integrating new evidence and addressing key challenges facing the field today.

Webinar Journal Club 15

Five-Part Series
Sacred Sparks: How Chaplains Ignite Healing in Patients, Clinicians and Themselves

Transforming Chaplaincy and the Association of Professional Chaplains are partnering together again for their 15th year of Webinar Journal Club (WJC). WJC provides in-depth readings and discussion of research relevant to chaplains in clinical healthcare. Over five sessions, hosts, Dr. Beth Muehlhausen and John Betz, and guests from diverse demographics and viewpoints explore recent research that highlights how chaplains ignite sacred sparks of meaning and healing across diverse contexts—patients, adolescents, clinicians, and chaplains themselves. Each session focuses on one article, with guided discussion about how findings inform and strengthen chaplaincy practice.

By registering, you will receive a recording for each session.

February 10 | April 14 | June 23 | September 22 | November 10

Interprofessional Spiritual Care Education Curriculum (ISPEC)

The ISPEC™ Training Course is gaining momentum among healthcare professionals worldwide. The next ISPEC™ Training Course is scheduled for January 29 and 30, 2026. Registration ends on January 20.

​For more information.

Telechaplaincy Community of Practice Events

Longitudinal Virtual Spiritual Care​
January 16, 2025, 12-1 PM ET (6-7 PM CEST)​
​

Many healthcare systems now offer virtual spiritual care to chronically ill patients. These patients, unlike critically ill patients in hospital settings, have no clear discharge date. This leaves it up to chaplains to decide when their care for these patients will end. So far, no clear disciplinary standards have been developed for how or when to end care. For example, should chaplains follow the 3-4 visit and refer out rule that many faith leaders follow in their own communities? Or has virtual spiritual care opened up new avenues for longitudinal care that chaplains not only can but should explore?

Joe Chapman is a board-certified chaplain with five years of experience in virtual spiritual care. He is currently staff chaplain at the Mercy Virtual Care Center in Chesterfield, Missouri.

​

When Griefbots Take on the Persona of a Deceased Loved One: Reflections and Research Insights​
January 30, 2025, 12-1 PM ET (6-7 PM CEST)
​​
Large language models are pushing into the space of death and grief, through the development of so-called griefbots, which are chatbots trained on a deceased loved one’s digital footprint (e.g., their messages and texts). Griefbots are primarily designed as tools to support grieving individuals after the loss of a loved one by simulating the deceased loved one’s style of communication, yet there exists little to no empirical research on griefbots. This presentation reviews the potential ethical implications of using griefbots with clients from a research perspective. Drawing on insights from social science, the presentation overviews how griefbots work, summarizes existing research on the topic, and aims to stimulate reflection within participants on the use of technology with clients.

Marco Dehnert (PhD, Arizona State University) is an Assistant Professor of Communication and Technology at the University of Arkansas, USA, where he also directs the AI and Robots for Connection (ARC) Lab.
​
Join the Telechaplaincy Community of Practice at www.telechaplaincy.io to participate!

Supporting Partnership Opportunities

If you are interested in discussing supporting partnership opportunities with Transforming Chaplaincy, please contact Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins, TC's Assistant Director of Research Development, at caitlin_m_desjardins@rush.edu.

To Support Transforming Chaplaincy

Thank you for engaging with Transforming Chaplaincy as we work together to advance spiritual care through research. We value your support, whether you are a part of one of our research networks, attend webinars, or are on a research team. Please also consider contributing financially by clicking the button below.

Missed a Webinar?

If you were not available to tune into a Transforming Chaplaincy (TC) live broadcast or perhaps you want to see a specific webinar again, check out TC's YouTube channel. Many of you (1.75K) are already TC YouTube channel subscribers and know how this works. When you subscribe, you receive a notification that a new recording is ready for your viewing along with 115+ of our videos. Thank you for whenever you engage TC's content to advance spiritual care through research. Transforming Chaplaincy’s YouTube channel.

​Transforming Chaplaincy: Advancing Spiritual Care Through Research​
​
​Vision: We envision a future when chaplaincy is formed, informed, and transformed by evidence-based practice
​
​Mission: The mission of Transforming Chaplaincy is to promote evidence-based spiritual care and integrate research into professional practice and education by fostering a culture of inquiry

Our mailing address is:​
Transforming Chaplaincy
Rush University Medical Center
Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values
1653 West Congress Parkway
Chicago, IL 60612