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.

In conjunction with the annual Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) Conference (June 12-15) being hosted in the Minneapolis area, Transforming Chaplaincy is excited to announce the first ever, Healthcare Chaplaincy - State of the Science. It will be a one day event on Thursday, June 12, 8 AM - 5 PM (CDT).

The morning session, Using Emerging Evidence to Strengthen the Value Proposition for Spiritual Care, will feature the following themes: 1) Staff Care, 2) Chaplaincy Education and Development, and 3) Mapping Studies.

The afternoon session, Innovations Transforming Spiritual Care, will be focused on 4) Spiritual Screening and 5) Assessment culminating with a final end-of-the-day panel.

To support navigating your way through this registration process, check out the short video below. We look forward to seeing you for this inaugural in-person event featuring over thirty chaplain researchers and leaders in the field. Come make history with us!.

Spiritual Care Management and Leadership Certificate

September 2025 - May 2026

The Transforming Chaplaincy Certificate Program in Spiritual Care Management and Leadership (SCML), a distinctive educational offering at Rush University College of Health Sciences, is an exceptional resource for those aspiring to lead spiritual care programs in healthcare.

Led by experts, it integrates classroom learning, real-world case studies, and experiential activities to equip participants with the skills needed for effective leadership amidst the complexities of healthcare spiritual care. Emphasizing a comprehensive curriculum that covers everything from emotional intelligence to strategic thinking and innovation, this program is designed for current and aspiring spiritual care leaders seeking to enhance their capabilities and impact.

Participants will join a supportive community, engage in reflective practices, and apply what they learn to real-world challenges, preparing them to lead with agility and compassion in the evolving healthcare landscape. For more info and to apply.

Chaplaincy Conference Season

Pediatric Chaplain Conference

May 5-8, Atlanta, Georgia

Transforming Chaplaincy highlighted pediatric spiritual care research last week at the Pediatric Chaplains Network 30-year anniversary conference in Atlanta. TC's Asst. Director for Research Development Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins co-led two sessions: pediatric chaplains' contributions to ethics and medical decision-making and a state of the science for pediatric behavioral health. TC Staff Researcher, Amanda Borchik, served on the professional development panel and offered the keynote at the celebration gala with a vision for a future where pediatric chaplains "are contributing to and collaborating on research that expands our understanding of the spiritual strengths of children and the professional, unique strengths of pediatric chaplains." TC is proud to work alongside PCN to ensure evidence-based spiritual care is available to all hospitalized children and their families.

ACPE Annual Conference

May 19-22, Minneapolis, Minnesota

We'll see you in Minneapolis to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of ACPE. Be sure to stop by our exhibitor table.

APC Annual Conference

June 12-15, Bloomington, Minnesota

We also hope to see you less than one month later in Bloomington for the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) gathering. Swing on by our exhibitor table there as well.

Blog: Encouraging Chaplains to Serve on IRBs

Russell Myers (pictured above), D.Min. (retired chaplain)
with consultation from fellow IRB member Rev. David Plummer

Russell Myers, D. Min., served as hospital and EMS chaplain in St. Paul, MInnesota, for 31 years. He was the primary investigator for the study, Burnout and Exposure to Critical Incidents in a Cohort of Emergency Medical Services Workers from Minnesota (Open Access).

Having been on three different Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) over the course of thirty years in chaplaincy, I highly recommend peers and colleagues to consider serving on an IRB.

Upcoming Webinar: Why Do Cancer Patients of Dharmic Religions Rarely Ask for a Chaplain?

Tuesday, June 24, 3-4 PM (CDT)

Why do patients from Dharmic religions rarely ask for a chaplain? Dr. Rushil Patel and his team raise this question after leading an extensive review of patient records over a four-year period at Memorial Hospital, a dedicated cancer hospital in the Memorial Sloane Kettering system, followed by interviews with both chaplains and patients from Dharmic religions. They discovered that those with cancer of Dharmic religions are less likely to use chaplaincy services. Patient’s unfamiliarity with what a chaplain does, or the patient feeling their faith would not be recognized by the hospital, are just two of the findings from the study.

How comfortable are you providing spiritual care to those of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain faith? Given that spiritual care has proven to improve the outcomes of our oncology patients, we need to address this shortcoming in our clinical practice.

Join us as we learn from Dr. Patel’s expertise and knowledge, complemented by respondent, Venerable Zhiyun Cai, Zen Buddhist nun and oncology chaplain at Stanford HealthCare in northern California. To register.

Upcoming Education
Research Literacy 101

August 20 - September 17

Since 2019, Transforming Chaplaincy has offered Research Literacy 101 to support chaplains learning how to locate, evaluate, and summarize the evidence related to their practice. We'd love to have you join us for the next offering of this course. A registration link with more details will be posted next month.

Recent Publications

Since the Triple Aim identified the importance of addressing population health nearly twenty years ago, many hospitals have developed community health initiatives. As part of our efforts to map spiritual care services, Transforming Chaplaincy partnered with colleagues at Virginia Commonwealth University to map chaplain involvement in their hospital’s community health initiatives. A new, open access paper, published this month in Health and Social Care in the Community, reports that chaplains both participate in and lead a range of these initiatives. It is a companion to an article, published last month in Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, also open access, that reports findings from interviews with some of the chaplains involved in these initiatives. The study highlights the important contributions chaplains can make through greater involvement in their organization’s community health initiatives.

White KB, Galchutt P, Collier K, Szilagyi C, & Fitchett G. Spiritual care and community wellness: A mixed-methods approach to explore chaplains’ integration in community health initiatives. Health and Social Care in the Community.https://doi.org/10.1155/hsc/6128995. E-published April 28, 2025. Open Access (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/hsc/6128995)

White KB, Galchutt P, Collier K, Szilagyi C, Fitchett G. Chaplains' reports of integration in community health initiatives: A qualitative study. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. 2025 Apr-Jun;31(2):127-146. doi: 10.1080/08854726.2024.2401742. Open access (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08854726.2024.2401742?needAccess=true)

Should faith group endorsement be required to be a board-certified chaplain or certified CPE educator? This new paper reports the views of 78 chaplains and educators about this question. Most of the study participants described FGE as essential to the formation and identity of professional chaplains, but they also described serious problems with the current process for obtaining FGE. The study reported in this paper was funded by APC and ACPE and conducted by Transforming Chaplaincy. The article is Open Access.

Redl N, Fitchett G, Golden KB. Faith Group Endorsement: Opportunity or challenge for professional chaplaincy? Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. 2025 May 4:1-15. doi: 10.1080/08854726.2025.2498848. Epub ahead of print

Congratulations

Congrats, Rev. Marilyn J. D. Barnes, MS, MA, MPH, BCC! Marilyn is the Rev. Robert B. Lantz Chair and Associate Professor, Patient Counseling Department, College of Health Professions at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the Director of the VCU Health Spiritual Care Department. Marilyn is also a Transforming Chaplaincy research fellow alum.

Marilyn will receive the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) at this year's APC Annual Conference, June 12-15, Bloomington, Minnesota.

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 (1.48K) 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.

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