UCSF Spirit Care
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Our Program is Unique

Some distinctive features of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals and our CPE program include:

  • CPE interns at UCSF are exposed to cutting edge medical technology and care-giving in a fast-paced environment.  Upon graduation, CPE interns will find that having served patients, families and staff at UCSF will have significantly added to the breadth and depth of their spiritual caregiving skills.
  • The UCSF Palliative Care Program has been named by the American Hospital Association as one of the top three programs nationwide for its innovative efforts to provide end-of-life care.  All year-long CPE interns participate in a curriculum that introduces them to topics related to palliative care and end-of-life issues, and two CPE interns each year serve a rotation on a palliative care team at UCSF. During their rotation they are assigned cases, participate in interdisciplinary team meetings, read research in the field, and are closely mentored.
  • CPE interns at UCSF are trained in crisis debriefing and decompression, so that they can help people mitigate the stressful effects of traumatic events that they have experienced.  This skill translates easily into all ministry contexts.
  • The year-long curriculum offers in-depth education about professional spiritual care, ministry formation, and pastoral competencies.  Each unit has a specific educational focus.
  • UCSF is a teaching hospital. Chaplain interns learn alongside students from the schools of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy, which are all part of the UCSF campus. The CPE curriculum includes participation in lectures that are offered on campus, such as Giving Bad News to Patients; Heart Math (Tools on Stress and Anxiety Management); Medical Ethics; Children and Cancer; and many more.
  • In the fourth unit of the year-long program, CPE classes will address preparation for the job market after CPE graduation.  Students will have an opportunity to become familiar with chaplaincy certification requirements, begin writing their certification materials and receive feedback, find out about networking for jobs, and talk with a panel of professional chaplains.
  • The participants of the CPE group generally come from diverse backgrounds regarding religion, spirituality, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, nationality and ethnicity.  The CPE supervisors reflect some of this diversity as well.  The diversity within the group and supervisory faculty enhances the learning milieu.
  • There are a variety of resources at UCSF that support student and staff diversity, such as the LGBT Resource Center (the only one of its kind in a health care setting), the Multicultural Resource Center, and the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Diversity.

About Us

Spiritual Care Services provides emotional and spiritual support for patients, their families and staff. Learn More

News and Blog Posts

  • Announcing a Time of Remembrance for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco
  • UCSF Hosts Continuing Education Event for Spiritual Caregivers and Allies on July 16, 2018
  • Spiritual Care Services Launching No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program at UCSF
  • Midday Mindfulness at Parnassus
  • A Statement of Solidarity from Spiritual Care Services
  • UCSF Spiritual Care Services Awarded Research Literacy Curriculum Grant
  • Spiritual Care Services Speaks Up on Sustainability
  • Chaplains Publish Articles on Cancer Care and Asian American Religions
  • More Articles Published from UCSF Spiritual Care Research
  • Spiritual Care Services Sponsors Conversation with Thupten Jinpa

Seven Steps to Self-Care

  • Tip #1: Stay nourished and hydrated. If you are feeling irritated or exhausted part of the reason might be because your body needs fuel. Make sure you’re drinking water regularly and eating healthy snacks whenever you can.
  • Tip #2: Take five, slow deep breaths, inhaling through you nose and exhaling through you mouth. Try to inflate you lower lungs as you breathe. When we are under stress, we tend to take shallow breaths. Slow deep breathing will help lower your stress and enhance your mood and concentration. As you breathe, you can meditate, pray or simply enjoy a quiet mental space.
  • Tip #3: Reach out to others and feel free to ask for help when you need it. You don’t have to apologize. Remember that other people do care. Alternatively, you can contact friends who could use a call and ask them how they are doing. Sometimes supporting someone else is a good way to improve your own attitude.
  • Tip #4: If you’re worried, bring yourself back to the present. When we feel anxious, we’re preoccupied with the future. A good way to release anxiety is to stand still, move your fingers and toes, and pay attention to those sensations. While you do this action, it can help to think about someone you care about or who cares about you.
  • Tip #5: Lighten up. Let your sense of humor travel with you. Laughing increases blood flow and relaxes blood vessels. It reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone that increases our belly fat and makes our kidneys retain salt and water, boosting our blood pressure.
  • Tip # 6: Write down something that inspires you, that moves you, or that you’re grateful for. People who exercise their gratitude have greater peace of mind, happiness, physical health, and more satisfying personal relationships.
  • Tip #7: Talk with a chaplain – we’re always available!

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Copyright © 2020 by the Regents of the University of California

All opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not represent the official position of the University of California. The Clinical Pastoral Education program at UCSF Health is accredited for Level 1, Level 2, and Certified Educator CPE by ACPE (the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.), One West Court Square, Suite 325, Decatur, GA 30033-2538 USA; 404-320-1472; www.acpe.edu.

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