Program Dates

Three CPE programs are offered yearly. Write or call for exact dates.

• Summer: late May through mid-August; full-time; no stipend
• Extended: mid-September or October through mid-March or April; part-time, day and/or evening; no stipend
• Residency: 12 months, 4 units; full-time; through the Saint Louis Cluster; stipend

Summer and Extended Unit Curricula have common program elements:

• 300 hours of clinical experience, interacting with patients, family, and staff
• clinical specialties precepted by staff chaplains
• overnight and daytime on-calls required
• orientation to policy and protocols
• 100 hours of educational focus, including
• development of individualized learning contract
• individual and group pastoral education supervision
• small process group experience
• verbatim presentations by students to supervisor and peer group
• didactic presentations
• occasional reading assignments
• theological integration, including pastoral care preaching and written reflections
• reflection on sacred texts used in spiritual care

Yearlong
4-unit residents are chosen through a two-tier interview process, one at the Cluster level and one within the Pastoral Care Department.

Residents are expected to claim a pastoral specialty in their full-time engagement of CPE while functioning as stipend students. Regular overnight and daytime on-calls are required.

Clinicals are provided primarily at Saint Louis University Hospital, a tertiary-quaternary trauma center and teaching hospital (www.sluhospital.com). CPE students are precepted by and work collegially with the full-time and part-time Pastoral Care Staff in many hospital clinical areas (e.g., psychiatry, transplant services, oncology, general surgery, internal medicine, trauma, emergency medicine, orthopedics, neurology, neuro-surgery, cardio-thoracic surgery, cardiology, pulmonology, and geriatric medicine).

Selected students have opportunities to do pediatric and outpatient clinicals through contractual arrangements.