Spiritual Care and Education

Spiritual Care and Education

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue supports a long tradition of providing for the religious/spiritual needs of patients, families, and staff members. The Spiritual Care Department responds to requests for services and provides emotional and spiritual support based on assessment of individual needs.

Bellevue Chaplains serve patients/families and staff of all faith traditions and those who follow no traditional faith.

Spiritual Care Main Office: 212-562-7944

Mission

The mission of the NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue’s Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program is to provide learning opportunities for ministry professionals, seminary students and qualified laypersons to develop their theoretical, clinical, theological, professional, and personal competencies in the delivery of spiritual care in an acute setting while simultaneously providing chaplaincy services to our staff.

Program Overview

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is experiential theological education designed to improve the quality of pastoral/spiritual care offered by spiritual caregivers of all faiths and levels of experience. Our program uses the experiential action-reflection-action model of learning that integrates components of direct spiritual care, personal and theological reflection, supervision, peer review and supportive group process.

All of our CPE programs are accredited by ACPE, the Standard for Spiritual Care & Education.

Our Programs

Summer CPE Unit:

Summer CPE Program is designed primarily for seminarians, qualified lay persons and local religious leaders desiring skills refinement and exploring one’s gifts for the ministry. The program is full-time and involves over 400 hours of which at least 100 hours are devoted to the educational experiences comprised of theological reflection, didactics, small group process discussions and reflection of clinical material. The curriculum integrates the experience of ministry with theology, personal history, behavioral sciences and spiritual development. Students are on call in the hospital during the early evenings and on weekends.

Extended CPE Units:

Designed as a continuing education experience for selected lay persons, social workers, teachers, health care professionals, clergy and religious leaders to deepen one’s own spirituality, learn new skills in one’s ministry and explore a new career in the ministry. Program includes weekly classes and a minimum of 15 hours per week of clinical time providing spiritual care. While in the program you will have the opportunity to conduct interfaith worship and participate in our departmental life. The program will involve over 400 hours of which at least 100 will be devoted to the educational experience.

Full Time Chaplain Residency

Residency: In 2020 The Spiritual Care Department at Bellevue Hospital received a generous grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to establish an innovative education program for spiritual leaders. The program is aligned with Bellevue Hospital’s mission to provide care to New York’s neediest populations and deliver healthcare to every patient regardless of ability to pay.

Residents complete three full units of ACPE-accredited CPE and are expected to spend ample time, in addition to the shifts mentioned above, preparing their CPE assignments. We strongly encourage residents to avoid having other professional commitments during the Residency Program. There are two inter-unit integration periods when residents work intensively providing spiritual care on their clinical units and take scheduled vacation time.

Our Setting

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is the flagship hospital of NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public hospital system. Bellevue offers a wide range of medical, surgical, and psychiatric services and is a major referral center for highly complex cases. The clinics alone have more than 500,000 visits per year. NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue provides comprehensive health services of the highest quality for all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay, in an atmosphere of humane care, dignity, and respect.

Clinical Pastoral Education at Bellevue was accredited by ACPE in 2006. CPE students at Bellevue receive the most diverse education imaginable. Each student is assigned to surgical units, medicine units and psychiatric units. Some are assigned to outpatient or inpatient chemical addiction units. Students are also assigned to our Riker’s Island forensic units for both mentally and physically ill patients and rotate through our emergency room trauma center.

CPE Program Site:

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Spiritual Care Department
462 First Avenue, Rm A142
New York, NY 10016
CPE Telephone: 212-562-7203
Email: BellevueCPE@nychhc.org

Pre-requisites for CPE:

• Baccalaureate Degree
• To be enrolled in or have graduated from an accredited graduate theological program.
• Be actively considering a career in chaplaincy.

Application Process:

• A completed ACPE application, including all essays. Download application here:
  • Application
• Three (3) letters of recommendation
• Admission interview by qualified interviewer
• Acceptance into program by ACPE Certified Educator.

Clinical Pastoral Education Brochure

• Brochure

The NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue ACPE-CPE program is accredited by

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education
1 Concourse Pkwy, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 320-1472
www.acpe.edu