CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION
AFFILIATED WITH THE
VANCOUVER SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
THE TRAINING CENTRES WITHIN PROVIDENCE HEALTH CARE
P
rovidence Health Care is a Catholic health care organization that respects the sacredness of
all aspects of life. Inspired by the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, staff physicians and
volunteers are dedicated to service and to the support of one another. In this environment of
service, support and respect, health care teams meet the physical, emotional, social spiritual
needs of those served through compassionate care, teaching and research.
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Providence Health Care is a complex of eight health care
facilities, founded by five different congregations. Health-care at Providence is delivered through
program-based care.
St. Paul’s Hospital is an acute care, teaching and research hospital located in downtown
Vancouver. It is home to many world-class medical and surgical programs, including cardiac
services, HIV/AIDS and kidney care. St. Paul’s Hospital has 520 acute care beds.
Youville Residence is a multi-level care home that is home to 84 residents. Located in a
garden setting, the residence has a full complement of staff trained to care for elderly people.
Marguerite Place is a 21-bed secured unit specifically designed to provide care to residents who
are cognitively impaired (Alzheimer-type dementia).
St. Vincent’s Hospitals includes two residential care sites – St. Vincent’s LANGARA (a long
term care home to 200 residents and 16 patients in the new Alder tertiary neuropsychiatry wing)
and BROCK FAHRNI PAVILION (an extended care home to 150 residents, many of whom are
armed forces veterans. HONORIA CONWAY is the first component of the Campus of Care.
There are 60 one-bedroom Assisted Living apartments for seniors, with 20 units on each of three
upper floors. There are also eight apartments for adults with disabilities in a separate part of the
building that are not part of the Assisted Living program.
Mount Saint Joseph Hospital is located on the east side of Vancouver, BC. The hospital offers
acute care, geriatrics, geriatric psychiatry and extended care services.
It is also respected
through out the province for its multicultural focus and community programs.
Holy Family Hospital is a recognized leader in the provision of specialized rehabilitation for
older adults and residential care. Patients from across BC come to Holy Family rehabilitation. As
well, the site is home to 142 extended care residents.
Marion Hospice has 12 hospice beds for people who are at the end of their lives. Located at
Windermere Care Centre, it is the first hospice located on the Vancouver’s Westside.
WHAT IS CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION (C.P.E.)?
C.P.E. emphasizes a pastoral/spiritual-centered approach to care.
As a member of an
interdisciplinary team, each student’s educational experience involves providing pastoral care to
patients/residents, families and/or friends, and staff.
Learning occurs through direct ministry experience, use of reflective tools, didactic input,
dialogue around cases in an interfaith peer group, and individual supervision.
ELEMENTS OF CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION (C.P.E.)
The following processes/methods of learning constitute the framework for Clinical Pastoral
Education:
 Case Conferences
Students present reports of pastoral care encounters for discussion, analysis, and evaluation in a
peer group setting.
 Interpersonal Relationships Group (I.P.R.)
This group experience provides an opportunity for students to become self-aware. Students
reflect on how their attitudes, values and assumptions affect their ministry. During IPR, students
learn how to minister to one another within a safe and trusting community.
 Didactic Seminars
Resource persons lead didactic presentations from various fields within healthcare. These cover
a broad range of issues related to the student’s field of pastoral care preparation.
 Individual Supervisory Sessions
These one to one conferences with the teaching supervisor provide the student an opportunity
for professional consultation and support in a fulfilling program requirements.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY
Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.) offers the student full use of the opportunity to minister
under closed supervision to people in a healthcare crisis situation, thus getting a deeper insight
into what they are doing in ministry or what is happening in spite of them.
S.P.E. (Supervised Pastoral Education) is therefore education in a decidedly interdisciplinary
context where the insights of other professions promote creative dialogue and where cooperation
is encouraged with other workers and agencies serving the community.
Through the action/reflection/integration process students develop their pastoral identity,
critique their style of ministry, develop pastoral skills and enrich their relationship with a God
whom they meet in the lived experience.
C.P.E. is an intense experience because it emphasizes human relationships and their implications
for pastoral care. A good deal of energy, to say nothing of creative imagination, is required to
make the maximum use of the time and opportunity afforded by the clinical environment.
DETAILED PROGRAM INFORMATION
CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION INTERNSHIP
Supervised Clinical Pastoral Education is designed to increase competence in pastoral care, to
fulfill requirements for a degree and ordination. Providence Health Care provides advanced
training for those who wish to obtain certification as a Specialist in Pastoral Care.
C.P.E. helps to prepare persons as professionals in pastoral care who serve in various institutions
such as hospital, prison, and mental health centres.

Dates
Spring Intensive Unit:
(5 days per week: March 3-May 16, 2014)
Application due: January 10, 2014
Summer Intensive Unit: (5 days per week: June 2- August 15, 2014
Application due: April 11, 2014
 Credit
All students earn credit with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC) and will be able
to fulfill requirements for ordination, seminary degrees, and/or continuing education.

Tuition for Unit of Basic C.P.E.
Tuition for a single unit of Clinical Pastoral Education is $2,000.00.
WHO MAY APPLY
Anyone may apply who wishes to hone skills for ministry and is committed to personal and
professional growth under supervision. An academic and theoretical grounding in theology (at
a Master’s Degree level) is expected, for those who wish to continue at the Advanced Level. All
programs are interfaith.
QUALITY STANDARDS
The curriculum meets the standards of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. Providence
Health Care is an accredited CASC Teaching Centre. In 2005 CASC awarded Providence Health
with 10-year accreditation as a Teaching Centre.
THE TEACHING SUPERVISOR
Rev. Philip Weaver, a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary, is ordained in the Christian
Reformed Church of North America. He began his career in health care ministry almost twentyfive years ago and has worked in acute care, hospice and mental health centres in the US and
Canada. He is accredited as a Specialist in Pastoral Care and the Teaching Supervisor
(Associate) for Providence Health Care’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. As a Teaching
Supervisor, Philip guides graduate students as they learn the art and science of pastoral care.
For the past nine years his primary clinical focus has been in the areas of HIV/AIDS and Palliative
Care.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND APPLICATION FORMS CONTACT
Pam Seeley, Administrative Assistant, Pastoral Care Services, Providence Health Care, St. Paul’s
Hospital, Rm. 271-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Telephone: 604 – 806 – 8163