Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has announced two grants totaling $4.5 million from the John Templeton Foundation to help hospital chaplains use research to guide and advocate for the spiritual care they provide.

The grants will support the medical center's Training Research-Literate Chaplains as Ambassadors for Spirituality and Health project, an effort to provide chaplains with the research-literacy training they need to more effectively provide services and advocate for their profession. The project includes a fellowship program that will pay for sixteen board-certified chaplains to complete a two-year, research-focused master of science or master of public health degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, or public health at an accredited school of public health; grants to help defray the cost of clinical pastoral education residency programs; and free online education.

"Healthcare chaplains have embraced the importance of evidence-based practice but lack the training to realize it," said project co-leader George Fitchett, professor and director of research in Rush's Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values. "More interdisciplinary collaboration and a growing understanding of how religion and spirituality can positively impact patient health means hospital chaplains are increasingly important members of a patient’s care team."