Knowledge, tools, and skills for ALL members of the health care team
"We believe spiritual care as part of whole person care is a human right. To that end, ISPEC© is an innovative, powerful way to bring spiritual care training to health care systems around the world."
—GWish Founder Christina Puchalski MD, FACP, FAAHPM
ISPEC©: Spiritual Care Training for Doctors, Nurses, Chaplains, Social Workers, Psychologists—All Types of Practitioners
Interprofessional Spiritual Care Education Curriculum (ISPEC©) is an international, evidence-based curriculum for teaching all types of health care providers to address their patients’ spiritual needs in a daily health care practice. Designed to be taken together with an area chaplain or spiritual director, ISPEC is a compilation of over two decades of research, education, and clinical best practices.
Launched in 2018, ISPEC© has already begun developing leaders, mentors, and replicable models of spiritual care training throughout multiple countries. As the program continues to grow, we envision a future where all clinicians, spiritual care professionals, and other providers in health settings are equipped to attend to spiritual distress among patients and their families, particularly those experiencing acute illness or end-of-life.
We would like to acknowledge our partner organizations for their passionate engagement and support. We would also like to specifically thank the Fetzer Institute for their support and initial funding for the development of the ISPEC program.
©Copyright GWish and The George Washington University, 2018, updated 2022. All rights reserved. No excerpts, translations, or adaptations may be created without written permission.
Learn more about the ISPEC© Training Course