6 Articulate how primary research and research literature inform the profession of chaplaincy and one’s spiritual-care practice.
ITP 6 is assessing how the candidate has incorporated research into their practice. There has been a considerable increase in the importance of this competency in recent years. Transforming Chaplaincy has been a main driving force in this area. Some familiarity with names like George Fitchett and Wendy Cadge would be helpful with demonstrating this competency.
During my CPE units, we were involved with a journal club that taught the basics of how to submit research and how to read an academic article. If you were unable to have that opportunity with your CPE, the Healthcare Chaplaincy Network has released a helpful handbook on chaplaincy and research. In it, one of the authors gives some reasons that resonate with me on the need for research.[1] There is a professional imperative; we are to be informed well to take the best steps for those in our care. There is an economic imperative; the research being done is given a financial incentive by showing the cost-benefit of spiritual care. There is a sustaining effect; it is an avenue for chaplains to work together and support patient care from a different angle and stimulate creativity.
Lastly, there is a significance in the theological and spiritual approach toward scientific study. For more examples of how these practices can be applied in chaplaincy see the collection of works in which George Fitchett urges chaplains to become research literate.[2] Could you cite one peer-reviewed study that has informed your practice of chaplaincy so far?
[1] Gary Myers and Stephen Roberts, “An Invitation to Chaplaincy Research: Entering the Process,” Healthcare Chaplaincy Network, last modified 2004 https://healthcarechaplaincy.org/wpcontentuploads/2021/06hcc_research_handbook_final.pdf.
[2] George Fitchett, Kelsey B. White, and Kathryn Lyndes, eds. Evidence-Based Healthcare Chaplaincy: A Research Reader (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018), 11.
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