The CPE program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania includes a monthly seminar to introduce students to research and to the sources of literature on spirituality & health. While students are usually most engaged when studies address their particular interests -- and to that end, the ACPE Research Network offers a choice of over 140 topics among its Article of the Month pages -- the following ten have proved to be especially useful in illustrating the value and dynamics of research for first-year residents. In addition to these articles, supervisors should consider introducing students to the methodology of qualitative research through the August 2014 Article-of-the-Month: Grossoehme, D. H., "Overview of qualitative research," Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy 20, no. 3 (2014): 109-122.
Listed in reverse chronological order
Hui, D., de la Cruz, M., Thorney, S., Parsons, H. A., Delgado-Guay, M. and Bruera, E. "The frequency and correlates of spiritual distress among patients with advanced cancer admitted to an acute palliative care unit." American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine 28, no. 4 (June 2011): 264-270. [September 2011 Article of the Month]
Spidell, S., Wallace, A., Carmack, C. L., Nogueras-Gonzalez, G. M., Parker, C. L. and Cantor, S. B. "Grief in healthcare chaplains: an investigation of the presence of disenfranchised grief." Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy 17, no. 1 (January 2011): 75-86. [May 2011 Article of the Month]
Nolan, S. "Hope beyond (redundant) hope: how chaplains work with dying patients" Palliative Medicine 25, no. 1 (January 2011): 21-25. [February 2011 Article of the Month]
Bay, P. S., Beckman, D., Trippi, J., Gunderman, R. and Terry, C. "The effect of pastoral care services on anxiety, depression, hope, religious coping, and religious problem solving styles: a randomized controlled study." Journal of Religion and Health 47, no. 1 (2008): 57-69. [March 2009 Article of the Month]
Wachholtz, A. B. and Pargament, K. I. "Migraines and meditation: Does spirituality matter?" Journal of Behavioral Medicine 31, no. 4 (August 2008): 351-366. [October 2008 Article of the Month]
Piderman, K. M., Marek, D. V., Jenkins, S. M., Johnson, M. E., Buryska, J. F. and Mueller, P. S. "Patients' expectations of hospital chaplains." Mayo Clinic Proceedings 83, no. 1 (January 2008): 58-65. [March 2008 Article of the Month]
Zhong, C-B. and Liljenquist, K. "Washing away your sins: threatened morality and physical cleansing." Science 313, no. 5792 (September 8, 2006): 1451-1452. [December 2006 Article of the Month]
Athappilly, G. K., Greyson, B. and Stevenson, I. [Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois-Chicago]. "Do prevailing societal models influence reports of near-death experiences? A comparison of accounts reported before and after 1975." Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 194, no. 3 (March 2006): 218-222. [May 2006 Article of the Month]
McGrath, P. "Positive outcomes for survivors of haematological malignancies from a spiritual perspective." International Journal of Nursing Practice 10, no. 6 (December 2004): 280-291. [March 2005 Article of the Month]
Fitchett, G., Murphy, P. E., Kim, J., Gibbons, J. L., Cameron, J. R. and Davis, J. A. "Religious struggle: prevalence, correlates and mental health risks in diabetic, congestive heart failure, and oncology patients." International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 34, no. 2 (2004): 179-196. [November 2004 Article of the Month]
