Transforming Chaplaincy promotes evidence-based spiritual care and integrate research into professional practice and education by fostering a culture of inquiry
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Transforming Chaplaincy - Short Courses: Intro to Qualitative Research Course & Clinical Note Writing
Published about 7 hours ago • 2 min read
Intro to Qualitative Research for Evidence-Based Chaplaincy October 29, 12pm-5pm ET
Qualitative Research for Evidence-Based Chaplaincy is a 5-hour interactive short course (with substantial breaks) designed for hospital chaplains who want to deepen and strengthen their qualitative research skills and apply evidence-informed insights to spiritual care. Participants will explore the foundations of evidence-based chaplaincy, with a focus on qualitative research methods, research rigor and trustworthiness, ethical considerations (including reflexivity, power dynamics, and IRB awareness), and the practical application of research findings.
The course introduces common qualitative methodologies such as phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography. Students will learn to critically read and appraise qualitative research literature relevant to chaplaincy by applying core questions of appraisal (e.g., appropriate sampling, data collection method, analysis rigor, ethical safeguards, researcher reflexivity). Through exercises and examples students will begin to shape their own qualitative spiritual care research question and explore which methodologies are appropriate to different qualitative objectives or approaches.
(L-R: Beba S. Tata-Mbeng & Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins)
Beba S. Tata-Mbeng, MDiv, MPH, BCC, is an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Assistant Professor of Spiritual Care at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and serves as Manager of Spiritual Care at Mayo Clinic Florida. A Transforming Chaplaincy Fellow alumna, she brings over a decade of experience in clinical spiritual care, leadership, education, and research, supported by advanced training in Divinity, counseling, and Public Health. Her professional and research interests include integrating spiritual care into everyday clinical practice, staff well-being, community health promotion, and spiritual life review for patients with serious illness. She is particularly passionate about qualitative research as a means of exploring lived experience, amplifying diverse voices, and advancing evidence-based spiritual care.
Cate Beaulieu-Desjardins, MDiv, MA, MPH, BCC, is a leader in spiritual care research in pediatrics both nationally and internationally. Cate is the Assistant Director for Research Formation at Transforming Chaplaincy and an Assistant Professor within Rush University College of Health Sciences in Religion, Health, and Human Values. Cate completed the Transforming Chaplaincy Research Fellowship in 2019, earning her MPH in Epidemiology (University of Cincinnati), and later an MA in Advanced Research Methods in Theology (KU Leuven). She will complete an MsT in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford in 2026. She is co-editor for the forthcoming book Case Studies in Pediatric Chaplaincy (Pickwick). Cate concurrently serves as the Director of the Anabaptist Center for Health Care Ethics and Mennonite Health Care Fellowship.
Upcoming Short Course
Masterclass for Chaplain Clinical Note Writing: An Evidence-Based Curriculum ~ Save the Date ~ Tuesday, December 1, 12-3 PM (CT) and pre-work
Communicating effectively through clinical notes is a key responsibility for every healthcare chaplain. This short course draws on current evidence to inform both teaching and practice, focusing on strategies for designing engaging notes, conveying the scope of chaplaincy work, and choosing language that accurately describes clinical encounters.
This will be the eighth time this course has been offered. It is updated based on participant feedback and current evidence.
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
Transforming Chaplaincy promotes evidence-based spiritual care and integrate research into professional practice and education by fostering a culture of inquiry
Connecting and Our Community Many of us were saddened to learn of Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s death on August 8. Her New York Times bestseller, Kitchen Table Wisdom, has been translated into 21 languages and influenced many of us. In the foreword, Dr. Dean Ornish writes, "...in the telling of stories we also learn what makes us similar, what connects us all, what helps us transcend the isolation that separates us from each other and from ourselves" (1996, p. xv). Transforming Chaplaincy advances...
Connecting and Our Community Many of us were saddened to learn of Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s death on August 8. Her New York Times bestseller, Kitchen Table Wisdom, has been translated into 21 languages and influenced many of us. In the foreword, Dr. Dean Ornish writes, "...in the telling of stories we also learn what makes us similar, what connects us all, what helps us transcend the isolation that separates us from each other and from ourselves" (1996, p. xv). Transforming Chaplaincy advances...
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