(CME132) Spirituality in Medical Education and Practice: Spiritual Care Assessment Workshop

Friday, March 27, 2026

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM PT

Room: Elite Ballroom 2 - 3

CE: 3

CME: (3.0) MOC: (3.0) CMD Management: (3.0) AAFP (3.0)

Lead Speaker(s)

Sarah A. McEvoy, MDiv, NHA, JD

Chaplain
Transforming Chaplaincy, Rush University Medical Center
Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Slides PDF Handout

Speaker(s)

Fatima A. Naqvi, MD, CMD

Assistant professor of Medicine
George Washington Medical Faculty Associates
Potomac, Maryland
Alexandra M. Donovan, Board Certified Chaplain

Associate Director, Employee Wellbeing & Spiritual Health
Optum Health
Fort Collins, Colorado

Session Summary: This three-part session will:
1. Review spiritual care through a brief presentation of PALTC research literature.
2. Present three spiritual care education modules designed to be integrated into the core curriculum. The modules include case study, small group, skills practice, and reflection in three areas:
a. Identifying spiritual distress and distinguishing spiritual distress and other types of distress.
b. Recognizing skills for practicing compassionate presence, taking a spiritual history, and developing a whole person treatment plan.
c. Recognizing clinicians’ spirituality as an integral component of professional development. Engaging spirituality to mitigate burnout and foster resilience
3. Elicit participant feedback on the education modules through small focus group discussions. Participants will take a pre-post survey to assess changes in attitude and intention to provide spiritual care.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

Understand the current research on the importance of spirituality and health.
Assess spiritual distress in a patient/resident and learn spiritual history taking skills.
Evaluate the barriers to spiritual care education and integration into the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Curriculum.