Spiritual Competence for Healthcare Professionals
This structured, clinically grounded course is intended for healthcare professionals, educators, and clinicians across disciplines who encounter spiritual concerns in practice and seek a grounded, ethical approach to engaging them within professional boundaries. Prior training in spirituality or religion is not required.
The course is delivered in a modular format, allowing participants to progress at a thoughtful pace while engaging with core concepts, reflective exercises, and applied clinical scenarios. Content is designed to support both individual learning and professional development contexts.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognize spiritual dimensions within clinical encounters
- Distinguish spiritual care from religious or personal belief systems
- Respond to spiritual concerns with ethical clarity and professional boundaries
- Integrate spiritual competence into existing clinical practice
- Navigate uncertainty and discomfort with greater confidence
Why spiritual competence matters in healthcare
Spiritual concerns frequently emerge in healthcare settings—during illness, crisis, end-of-life care, and moments of profound uncertainty. Yet many healthcare professionals report feeling uncertain about how to respond in ways that are clinically appropriate and ethically sound.
This course was developed to address that gap, offering a professional framework for recognizing and engaging spiritual dimensions of care without imposing beliefs, crossing boundaries, or compromising clinical standards.
What this course IS:
- A clinically informed framework
- Grounded in research and ethics
- Applicable across healthcare disciplines
- Focused on patient-centered care
What this course IS NOT:
- Religious instruction
- Spiritual direction or counseling training
- Ideologically driven
- A replacement for clinical judgment
Course developed by Dr. Tochi Brown
Dr. Tochi Brown’s work explores the intersection of spirituality, healthcare, and clinical ethics. This course reflects an integrative approach grounded in research, professional standards, and real-world healthcare contexts.
English