CLINICAL PASTORAL EDUCATION – VITAS San Antonio

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is interfaith professional education in the field of pastoral care. It is intended for theological students and ministers of all faiths for learning pastoral care skills and working within a pluralistic and clinical setting. CPE has been described as an “in-depth study of the living human document”—meaning that while we seek to understand others, we inevitably learn about ourselves. This program offers a rich environment for learning pastoral care skills, understanding end-of-life care issues and understanding the overall duties of a hospice chaplain. CPE also is described as an opportunity for spiritual and educational renewal—although it can be intensely demanding, emotionally and intellectually.

VITAS San Antonio is certified by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education to provide instruction in all three levels of CPE—Level I, Level II and Supervisory. A single unit of CPE requires a minimum of 400 hours of training (300 clinical and 100 educational).

CPE Tuition and Unit Requirements
The tuition for individuals per unit of CPE is $350, and $500 for individuals sponsored by a seminary or institution. There also is a $35 nonrefundable application fee. Students are reimbursed for mileage accrued when visiting hospice patients and families.

At least one unit of CPE unit is required for ordination; VITAS also requires its hospice chaplains to complete one unit of CPE, with encouragement to do more. Many faith bodies are now requiring a minimum of one unit of ACPE accredited CPE to be considered for ordination while a minimum of four units of CPE are required to qualify for board certification as a professional chaplain.

For more information about VITAS’ San Antonio’s clinical pastoral education program, contact Lee Ann Rathburn at 210-348-4300 or leeann.rathburn@vitas.com. For other CPE-certified VITAS locations, visit our VITAS CPE Contacts page.