Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)

An Introduction to CPE

Clinical Pastoral Education is an interfaith, professional education program, which brings people into a supervised setting where they encounter people in need of care. Through extensive and intensive engagement with people in crisis, and reflection with peers and teachers, CPE students develop awareness of how their personhood influences the care they provide. Students develop relational skills of spiritual assessment and the appropriate interventions that help them address the hopes, needs and resources of people in their care.

Through reflection on particular human situations and relationships, students deepen their competency as spiritual care providers. CPE is an educational process that is experientially based and embraces an “action-reflection” methodology through which the students engage in providing spiritual care services then critically reflect on that work with their CPE Certified Educator, peers, staff chaplains and other members of the interdisciplinary team.

Each “unit” of CPE is comprised of 100 hours of classroom education, which includes required readings, written reflections, case studies presented to the peer group and didactic presentations by people from a variety of caregiver disciplines. Each unit includes an additional 300 hours of spiritual care practice in the clinical setting. A full unit of CPE will include at least 400 hours of training and experiential education combined.

Essential Elements of CPE

• Spiritual Care with people in crisis
• Experiential Learning through the process of action and reflection
• Learning goals based on the student’s learning needs
• Written reflection and evaluation
• Peer relationships in a shared group learning experience
• Individual and group supervision

CPE at PIH Health

PIH Health Clinical Pastoral Education offers residents and interns the opportunity to work and learn with a diverse population of patients, family members and staff. Chaplain residents and interns benefit from the opportunity to work and grow in the hospital setting alongside students from a variety of other disciplines, such as medicine, nursing and social work. Our interdisciplinary approach gives students the opportunity to learn from a variety of perspectives, while they develop their professional identity and expertise as spiritual caregivers.

PIH Health offers different options for completing CPE units. All options will include the required number of 100 hours of classroom education and 300 hours of spiritual care practice in the clinical setting for each unit of CPE.

We offer a 9-month residency at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital and PIH Health Whittier Hospital. The residency generally begins in early September and goes through early June. Chaplain residents will participate in a full-time, 40 hours per week, program. When not in class, chaplain residents will provide patient and staff care from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (adjusted as needed) Monday through Friday, in addition to a minimum of two weekend days per month. Chaplain residents will not be required to complete over-night on-call shifts. Chaplain residents are paid a stipend of approximately $39,000 for nine months. It will include medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as paid vacation. Graduates of this residency will receive three units of ACPE accredited CPE.

We offer full-time internships of 10-12 weeks during the summer at PIH Health Whittier Hospital and PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital. They generally begin in early June and go through mid-August. Full-time interns will meet each week for one full class day and one half class day. When not in class, full-time students will provide patient and staff care from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (adjusted as needed) Monday through Friday in addition to some daytime weekend shifts. Graduates of this internship will receive one unit of ACPE accredited CPE.

A Typical Class Day in Clinical Pastoral Education

Class days will typically begin with a time for reflection/devotion led by one of the peer group members. Each class day will include a case study seminar, as reflection on one’s spiritual care practice is a core element of the program. Class days will often include didactic seminars, which introduce students to the theory and practice of spiritual care in the healthcare setting from a variety of sources. Those sources will include readings, lectures by a variety of professionals from a diverse group of disciplines, and multi-media resources. Each class day will also include peer group support and exploration of relational dynamics. Field trips to local destinations of educational interest to the group will also be offered occasionally. Evaluation will be offered by the Certified Educator and peers at the mid-point and the conclusion of each unit of CPE.

Faculty and Staff

Rabbi Rochelle Robins
Clinical Pastoral Education Manager, Good Samaritan

Pastor Moses Taiwo
Clinical Pastoral Education Manager, Whittier

Jennifer McGuire
Senior Administrative Coordinator

Angie Orozco
Administrative Assistant

Program Locations

• PIH Heath Good Samaritan Hospital
• PIH Health Whittier Hospital

CPE Prepares You for Many Paths in Ministry

CPE is often a required component of one's preparation for ministry in many denominations and faith groups. Many students take one unit of CPE to fulfill this requirement and go on to be parish pastors, rabbis, missionaries, or a member of a religious order. Many others take at least four units of CPE as part of their training to become a board-certified chaplain. Some students complete several units of CPE and enroll in Supervisory CPE to work toward certification as a CPE Educator.

Admission to CPE

PIH Health is committed to giving fair and thorough consideration to all qualified applicants. We select students who are seminarians, clergy and laypersons with consideration of aptitude for learning, capacity for self-reflection and potential for spiritual care without regard to age, gender, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation or sexual orientation.

Most successful applicants have already begun or have completed graduate theological education or other specialized training in their respective tradition.

PIH Health seeks to provide a safe and healthy environment for the entire PIH community. As part of this commitment, all applicants who accept an offer of CPE must comply with the following conditions:

• Background Check and Live Scan
• Legal Right to work in the United States (CPE Residents only)
• Vaccination Policies
• Smoking and Tobacco Policy
• Drug Free Environment

Admission Requirements

CPE Internships:

• A completed ACPE application and non-refundable application fee
• An admissions interview
• Student and Educator Final Evaluations from any prior CPE units, where applicable
• Payment of tuition fees
• While not required, applicants who have some undergraduate and graduate level education as well as those who are seeking or obtained ordination/endorsement from their respective tradition will be preferred.

CPE Residency:

• A completed ACPE application and non-refundable application fee
• An admissions interview
• Bachelor’s Degree (from a CHEA accredited institution) with at least one year of completed graduate theological education (from an CHEA accredited institution). MDiv or other master’s degree in theology, pastoral care, or equivalent education preferred.
• Ordination and/or endorsement from respective tradition preferred, where applicable
• A minimum of one completed unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)
• Student and Educator Final Evaluations from all prior CPE units
• Payment of tuition fees
• A completed application at https://jobs.pihhealth.org/
• We are unable to sponsor visas and we are only able to accept residents who are eligible to work in the United States
• We are unable to provide housing assistance and our residents need to arrange for their housing on their own

Certified Educator Candidate:

• Certified Educator Candidate training is available to qualified applicants as openings occur.  Position openings are posted at https://jobs.pihhealth.org/ as they become available.

Current Units and Tuition

PIH Health Whittier Hospital

PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital

How to Apply

If you are interested in the CPE residency, we encourage you to apply six to eight months in advance of the unit start date. If you are interested in one of our internship offerings, we encourage you to apply three to four months in advance of the unit start date. To be considered at both program locations you only need to submit one application. You can obtain an ACPE application for CPE here: https://acpe.edu/education/cpe-students/cpe-application

Please read the instructions carefully and fully answer the essay questions.  While there is no page length requirement or limit to the application essay questions, most applications are no more than seven pages total.

In addition to the ACPE application, the CPE residency positions also require a completed application at https://jobs.pihhealth.org/.

The fee to apply for CPE residency and internship at PIH Health is: $50. Please mail a personal check, money order, or cashier’s check, made out to "PIH Health" to the mailing address below.

Mailing Address

PIH Health
Clinical Pastoral Education
Attn: Jennifer McGuire
12401 Washington Blvd.
Whittier, CA 90602

562.967.2814

Please E-Mail ACPE applications to: CPE@PIHHealth.org.

Contact Us:

Clinical Pastoral Education
P: 562.698.0811 Ext. 12738
CPE@PIHHealth.org

PIH Health Clinical Pastoral Education is accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education to provide Level IA, Level IB, Level IIA, Level IIB,, and  Certified Educator Candidate ACPE Certified CPE™.

Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education
1 Concourse Pkwy, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30328
P: 404.320.1472
F: 404.320.0849
acpe.edu