New Publication Alert
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Chaplains Investigate Their Practice: The Dutch Case Studies Project

Martin Walton, Jacques Körver & Niels den Toom, Editors

​Chaplains Investigate Their Practice presents a collaborative study that analyzes more than a hundred instances of care by chaplains in various fields of chaplaincy in the Netherlands. The research provides an answer to the questions: What do chaplains do, why, and with what results?

For 40% discount, enter CONF40 at checkout when ordering the book from the publisher. Wipf & Stock Publishers - Transforming Chaplaincy book series

Masterclass for Chaplain Clinical Note Writing: An Evidence-Based Curriculum

Tuesday, May 6, 12-4 PM (CDT) via Zoom

One of the most important responsibilities and tasks for each healthcare chaplain is to communicate through the clinical note. This four-hour short course integrates the available evidence base toward what is taught and practiced for this course. We will discuss how best to approach this work, what are the ideal ways to design for engagement, what content best communicates chaplaincy scope, and what language best describes the circumstances of the clinical encounter.
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We're excited to report that this course is now full. So, we have created a waitlist. If you would like to be added to this list and/or be notified the next time this course is offered, send an email to paul_galchutt@rush.edu.

Chaplaincy Research Summer Institute

Monday, July 14 - Friday, July 18 - Rush University, Chicago

Chaplains are invited to apply for the Chaplaincy Research Summer Institute (CRSI). First offered in 2017, the CRSI helps chaplains develop research literacy to understand and apply research critically and introduces them to skills to engage in research and quality improvement projects. The CRSI follows an intensive and interactive format that facilitates networking with faculty and chaplains involved in research. Several hands-on sessions include conducting literature searches, qualitative research activities, and mentored small-group discussions. Participation in CRSI counts toward research-related CE hours of professional chaplaincy organizations. For more info and to apply.

Upcoming Webinars

Integrating Spiritual Care in Healthcare

Tuesday, April 22, 1-2 PM (CDT)

Transforming Chaplaincy is looking forward to partnering with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab for this event focusing on a discussion of the project, Mainstreaming Spiritual Care in Healthcare Organizations, including a new working paper! The project and this paper discuss how healthcare executives can maximize their utilization of spiritual care providers to enhance workforce wellbeing, patient experience, and access to care. To register.​

The ONC-5: A New Model for Spiritual Assessment in Cancer Care

Tuesday, April 29, 1-2 PM (CDT)

Spiritual assessment is one of the chaplain's most important spiritual care activities. The ONC-5 is a new model for spiritual assessment developed for spiritual care of adult cancer patients. The model yields a quantified assessment of the intensity of the patient’s spiritual concerns. This webinar will describe the development of the ONC-5 and its use in 3 research projects. The webinar also marks the launch of Transforming Chaplaincy’s new Cancer Care Spiritual Care Research Network. To register. ​

Presenters: Dr. George Fitchett, Dirk Labuschagne, Dr. Beth Muehlhausen, Beba Tata-Mbeng, and Bronwen Jones

Mainstreaming Spiritual Care in Healthcare

Tuesday, May 6, 12-1 PM (CDT)

Transforming Chaplaincy is joining forces again with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab with a discussion of the project, Mainstreaming Spiritual Care in Healthcare Organizations, including a new working paper! The project, and this paper, discusses how healthcare executives can maximize their utilization of spiritual care providers to enhance workforce wellbeing, patient experience, and access to care. To register.

Recent Publications

Research supporting spiritual care in cancer care is one of the three priority areas for Transforming Chaplaincy. In recent weeks TC team members and colleagues have published two new articles about spiritual care in cancer care.

Labuschagne D, Palmer PK, Deshields T, Gerhart J, Fitchett G. Testing items to screen for religious or spiritual distress in adult outpatient cancer care. Support Care Cancer. 2025 Feb 17;33(3):198. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09260-9. Erratum in: Support Care Cancer. 2025 Apr 5;33(4):354. doi:10.1007/s00520-025-09424-7

It is important for chaplains working in cancer care to have valid items to screen for possible religious/spiritual distress to recommend to their clinical teams. This paper reports findings from a study that examined the validity of 8 single item and 2 multi-item measures for spiritual distress screening. The single-item screener asking whether participants’ religion/spirituality provided all the strength and comfort needed performed best with a sensitivity and specifcity of 71% and 83%, respectively.

White KB, Sprik PJ, Jones B, Fitchett G. Spiritual care in outpatient oncology: a qualitative study of focus groups with cancer center chaplains. Support Care Cancer. 2025 Mar 26;33(4):322. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09369-x OPEN ACCESS

There is growing attention to spiritual care in outpatient oncology however little is known about the care that is currently being provided. This open access paper reports focus group interviews with 18 chaplains who worked at least 20% time in outpatient oncology. The chaplains reported diverse spiritual care staffing patterns and scope of services. They also described challenges to the integration of their services, including struggles with case finding and integration of spiritual distress screening. Education of clinical colleagues about spiritual care was an important need in these clinics.

Congratulations

Alexander (Lex) Tartaglia will receive the 2025 Helen Flanders Dunbar Award at the upcoming ACPE Annual Meeting. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to research and innovative practices in spiritual care and education. Lex was a member of the team that launched Transforming Chaplaincy in 2015 and remains a valued collaborator and colleague. Read more about his contributions.

Tim Usset, PhD, former Transforming Chaplaincy fellow, has been appointed as a 2025 Eisenberg Wellness Scholar by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality EUREKA project, in collaboration with the Minnesota Center for Learning Health System Sciences. The objective of the EUREKA project is to inspire the next generation of scholars to engage in studies aimed at reducing burnout, which aligns with the project's goal of establishing a national research agenda on burnout.

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 (1.43K) 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 110+ of our videos. Thank you for whenever you engage TC's content to advance spiritual care through research. Transforming Chaplaincy’s YouTube channel.

Mercy Virtual Spiritual Care: Empowering Care Recipients to Access Integrated Spiritual Care through Technology

Next meeting of the Telechaplaincy Community of Practice: May 2, 12-1 PM EST

This presentation explores how Mercy Virtual Spiritual Care is leveraging technology to empower over one million care recipients with 24/7 access to integrated spiritual care. Through the MyMercy platform’s “Contact Spiritual Care” functionality, patients can connect with a chaplain in just a few clicks—anytime, anywhere. We will also highlight key Electronic Medical Record (EPIC) customizations that enable spiritual care screening during all inpatient admissions and select ambulatory visits. These innovations reflect Mercy’s commitment to whole-person care by embedding spiritual support seamlessly into the digital and clinical care experience.

Justin Martin, MDiv, BCC, is the Director of Spiritual Care Innovation and Transformation at Mercy. He leads initiatives that integrate spiritual care into virtual platforms and clinical workflows, with a focus on accessible, person-centered care. Cody Alley, MDiv, BCC, serves as a Virtual Spiritual Care Initiatives Chaplain at Mercy. He specializes in delivering spiritual care through technology, helping patients access care regardless of time or location.

Sign up to be a part of the Telechaplaincy Community of Practice.

Conference: Out of the Depths’. Contours of Spiritual Care in a Wounded World

October 5-9, 2025 | ICPCC–ECPCC Conference Call | Nijmegen, Netherlands

Out of the Depths famously refers to the biography of Anton Boisen, instigator of the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Movement some one hundred years ago, a movement that has now spread out at centers all over the world. At these locations, professionals in pastoral and spiritual care are being trained and coached to explore their inner world at the service of their spiritual work with patients and clients at various care and church settings. At this centennial, it is good to take stock of the nature of their work. This regards the themes and issues of the patients they address; their counselling methods and techniques; and their training, formation, and supervision practices in pastoral care and education. For More Information: https://www.raadkpv.nl/berichten_volledig&item=13​

​Transforming Chaplaincy: Advancing Spiritual Care Through Research​
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​Vision: We envision a future when chaplaincy is formed, informed, and transformed by evidence-based practice
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​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