Chaplain Education 101

By John Graham

May 3rd, 2012

Friday, May 27, a Chaplain’s Continuing Ed class was held at the Institute (ISH).  The program coordinators were the Rev’ds Steven Spidell and Gary Jones who called the event Chaplain Education 101.  It was the first of what we hope to be many continuing education experiences for chaplains in our region.  A total of 25 attended with 10 coming all the way from San Antonio.  The talks can now be viewed on our YOUTUBE site (see menu bar above).  

Basically, the talks addresses everyday issues chaplains experience.  There was a very lively questions and answer period after each talk.  The afternoon was so well received that I predict attendance will double next time because everyone will want to come back and bring a colleague along.  ISH began in 1955 by providing CPE (Continuing Pastoral Education) classes for chaplains.  Many chaplains received their credentials at ISH until hospitals began providing their own training.  Today, ISH is again working closely with chaplains and we have applied for a research grant for an evidence-based study of the effectiveness of chaplaincy in palliative care.   With our connection with chaplains, ISH is returning to its roots and we are very pleased about that.