Toward Competency-Based Curricula in Patient-Centered Spiritual Care: Recommended Competencies for Family Medicine Resident Education

Abstract

Spiritual care is increasingly recognized as an important component of medical care. Although many primary care residency programs incorporate spiritual care into their curricula, there are currently no consensus guidelines regarding core competencies necessary for primary care training. In 2006, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine's Interest Group on Spirituality undertook a three-year initiative to address this need. The project leader assembled a diverse panel of eight educators with dual expertise in (1) spirituality and health and (2) family medicine. The multidisciplinary panel members represented different geographic regions and diverse faith traditions and were nationally recognized senior faculty. They underwent three rounds of a modified Delphi technique to achieve initial consensus regarding spiritual care competencies (SCCs) tailored for family medicine residency training, followed by an iterative process of external validation, feedback, and consensus modifications of the SCCs. Panel members identified six knowledge, nine skills, and four attitude core SCCs for use in training and linked these to competencies of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. They identified three global competencies for use in promotion and graduation criteria. Defining core competencies in spiritual care clarifies training goals and provides the basis for robust curricula evaluation. Given the breadth of family medicine, these competencies may be adaptable to other primary care fields, to medical and surgical specialties, and to medical student education. Effective training in this area may enhance physicians' ability to attend to the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of patients and better maintain sustainable healing relationships.

Evidence-based spiritual care

“…A common theme throughout the literature was a call for training and education in spiritual care giving; two studies examined the experience of students learning spiritual care giving using qualitative inquiry methods [35,47]; nine were conducted pertaining to the efficacy of such training [30,31,39,41,43,48,49,52,55]. Educational sessions were found to be effective in clarifying what spirituality is, increasing care givers' confidence in providing spiritual care, and providing a context for care givers to examine their own spirituality.…”

“…Four studies focused on chaplains or professionals designated primarily as spiritual care givers [43,44 & , [45][46][47][48]. Two studies reflected the experience of physicians: one focused on residents in family medicine [49], and the other focused on palliative care physicians [50]. Four addressed interdisciplinary care teams: palliative care staff [51,52], medical directors and chaplains [53], multifaceted organizational perspective (nurses, patients, family, chaplains, and hospital administrators) [54].…”

Implications for public health of the religiosity-longevity relation

“…23 In a training model for providing R/S care in clinical practice, health professionals learn to evaluate this aspect of life, which questions about R/S can affect treatment and when to refer patients for religious guidance. 24 Even without formal training, some general guidelines 25 can guide the health professional towards an empathic and open attitude:…”

Incorporation of spiritual care as a component of healthcare and medical education: comparison of Sub-Saharan African and Northern European viewpoints

“…[21][22] Surveys of practice at medical schools are dominated by data from USA. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Recent review articles have called for more studies from elsewhere in the world. Studies from other healthcare settings are few and do not directly compare practice in the UK and elsewhere.…”