Developments in spiritual care education in German - speaking countries

Background: This article examines spiritual care training provided
to healthcare professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The paper reveals the current extent of available training while
defining the target group(s) and teaching aims. In addition to
those, we will provide an analysis of delivered competencies,
applied teaching and performance assessment methods. Methods: In
2013, an anonymous online survey was conducted among the members of
the International Society for Health and Spiritual Care. The survey
consisted of 10 questions and an open field for best practice
advice. SPSS21 was used for statistical data analysis and the
MAXQDA2007 for thematic content analysis. Results: 33 participants
participated in the survey. The main providers of spiritual care
training are hospitals (36%, n = 18). 57% (n = 17) of spiritual
care training forms part of palliative care education. 43% (n = 13)
of spiritual care education is primarily bound to the Christian
tradition. 36% (n = 11) of provided trainings have no direct
association with any religious conviction. 64% (n = 19) of
respondents admitted that they do not use any specific definition
for spiritual care. 22% (n = 14) of available spiritual care
education leads to some academic degree. 30% (n = 19) of training
form part of an education programme leading to a formal
qualification. Content analysis revealed that spiritual training
for medical students, physicians in paediatrics, and chaplains take
place only in the context of palliative care education. Courses
provided for multidisciplinary team education may be part of
palliative care training. Other themes, such as deep listening,
compassionate presence, bedside spirituality or biographical work
on the basis of logo-therapy, are discussed within the framework of
spiritual care. Conclusions: Spiritual care is often approached as
an integral part of grief management, communication/interaction
training, palliative care, (medical) ethics, psychological or
religious counselling or cultural competencies. Respondents point
out the importance of competency based spiritual care education,
practical training and maintaining the link between spiritual care
education and clinical practice. Further elaboration on the
specifics of spiritual care core competencies, teaching and
performance assessment methods is needed.