Curriculum — Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Vincent Medical Center
Facilities
Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center
2213 Cherry St.
Toledo, Ohio 43608
St. Vincent Medical Center is the primary training location of the Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center CPE program. The location hosts the yearlong residency program, summer internship and extended internship. This clinical site offers CPE students the experience of working in a busy Level I Trauma Center. The hospital is located in downtown Toledo and serves a racially and socio-economically diverse patient population.
About Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center:
- Established in 1855
- Tertiary referral center for northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan
- Level I Trauma Center
- Approximately 330 beds
- Emergency Department
- Medical-Surgical, Trauma, Neuro, Cardiac ICUs
- Medical/Surgical stepdown
- Cardiovascular
- Labor and Delivery
- Orthopedics
- Bariatrics
- Burn
- Oncology
Alternate Clinical Placement Sites for Internships
Mercy Health – St. Charles Hospital
2600 Navarre Ave.
Oregon, Ohio 43616
About Mercy Health – St. Charles Hospital:
- Established in 1953
- 390 beds
- Level III trauma center
- Full range of medical/surgical services
- Primary Stroke Center certification from the Joint Commission
- 95-bed Behavioral Health Institute
- Spirituality groups facilitated by spiritual care staff
Mercy Health – St. Anne Hospital
3404 W. Sylvania Ave.,
Toledo, Ohio 43623
About Mercy Health – St. Anne Hospital:
- Established in 2002
- 128 inpatient beds and 26 ICU capable
- Free-standing emergency room at Sylvania Medical Center
- State-of-the-art surgical center
- STEMI center and cath lab
- 24/7 full-service emergency room
- Laboratory and imaging center
- In-house cardiac rehab department
Mercy Health – Perrysburg Hospital
12623 Eckel Junction Road
Perrysburg, Ohio 43551
About Mercy Health – Perrysburg Hospital:
- Established in 2018
- 48 beds and four ICU capable rooms
- Full-service 24/7 emergency room
- Comprehensive cancer center with gamma knife
- Surgery
- STEMI center and cath lab
- Laboratory and imaging center
Program Offerings
Summer Internship
The CPE summer internship at Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center is an unpaid educational training position that provides a full-time, immersive experience of CPE and the work of spiritual care in a clinical context.
- Program size: Three to six students
- Length of training: 11 weeks (full time); 400 hours
- Dates: End of May to early August
- Hours per week: 40 hours (32 clinical, eight education*)
- Number of CPE units: One unit
- Program cost: $25 application fee; $650 tuition
*CPE training requires additional time outside of structured group education for completion of unit learning assignments
Extended Internship
The CPE extended internship provides additional flexibility. It also is a 400-hour, unpaid training position and is designed for students who have work, education or family commitments that would prevent full-time training. Extended interns attend weekly educational sessions, and they schedule completion of clinical hours in dialogue with department leadership.
- Program size: Three to six students
- Length of training: About 24 weeks (part time); 400 hours
- Dates: Mid-October to mid-April
- Hours per week: 16 hours on average (12 clinical, four education*)
- Number of CPE units: One unit
- Program cost: $25 application fee; $650 tuition
*CPE training requires additional time outside of structured group education for completion of unit learning assignments
Residency
The CPE residency is designed to build on a student’s initial CPE experience from an internship unit. The yearlong training is a deeper dive into CPE and into the work of professional chaplaincy. The residency includes a paid stipend and benefits.
- Program size: Four residents
- Length of training: One year (full time)
- Dates: End of August to beginning of September
- Hours per week: 40 hours (32 clinical, eight education*)
- Number of CPE units: Three units
- Program cost: $25 application fee; tuition waived for residents
*CPE training requires additional time outside of structured group education for completion of unit learning assignments
Curriculum: ACPE Outcomes and Indicators
The CPE program is designed to help students develop in the following areas:
- Spiritual formation and integration
- Awareness of self and others
- Relational dynamics
- Spiritual care interventions
- Professional development
During each CPE unit, students work on one of four levels of ACPE outcomes and indicators.
Typical Educational Activities
- Verbatims
- Case studies
- Didactic seminars (lectures and discussion)
- Discussion of book chapters/articles
- Theological/spiritual reflection
- Interpersonal group seminars
- Clinical supervision and shadowing
- Live ministry/role play
- Workshops, field trips or educational events
- Self evaluation (shared with the other students and the educator)
- Educator evaluation
Typical Clinical Activities
- Emergency Department/trauma support
- Spiritual care consults
- Routine rounding
- Advance care planning
- Staff care
- Administrative work (including charting)
- Multidisciplinary team meetings
- Specialty care
Research and Scholarly Activity
CPE trainees develop basic research literacy skills. Learners have access to both online and in-person medical libraries through Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center and through Mercy College of Ohio. The curriculum includes reading and presenting on case studies and journal articles relevant to spiritual care.