The CPE Curriculum

The curriculum for both the residency and intern programs is guided by the Standards of ACPE.  We have a strong commitment to understanding life from a theological perspective that is informed by the behavioral sciences and educational theory. 

An Intern CPE unit offers an overview of pastoral care ministry in a hospital setting.  The emphasis is on pastoral identity and pastoral helping skills.  Didactics on crisis ministry and bereavement as well as on building staff relationships equip students for both intensive and extensive ministry.  The introspective component is often guided by Enneagram work and/or Myers-Briggs exploration.

While basic skills and invitation to self-reflection are the foundation of the curriculum, there is also time for our own narrative theology and theological reflection.  Exploring our own spiritual journey enhances our ability to help others explore theirs.  Recent external resources used for this integral part of CPE have been Killian and DeBeer’s Art of Theological Reflection, Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak, and Jean Colby Clift’s Core Images of the Self.

Chaplain residents train for a year in Norton Healthcare’s large medical care system. Our commitment is to help our chaplain residents be fully equipped to serve as competent pastors or chaplains at the end of their training.  Resident curriculum includes systems theory, multidisciplinary experiences, and greater depth in pastoral skills and self-reflection.  In the final unit of a residency year the educational focus is on transitions, interview skills and resume writing as they move forward toward ‘what next.

Curriculum planning is on-going and flexible at Norton Healthcare. Norton Healthcare offers a dynamic program in which students can learn about themselves, their relationships and their professional potential for ministry.