Medical Students' Reflections on Their Experiences in a Trauma Chaplain Shadowing Program.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Spirituality and Health
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Spirituality is crucial in patient care, necessitating improved medical student competency.
• Healthcare chaplain shadowing is an emerging experiential method for spiritual care education.
• Previous data indicate 6-8 hour trauma chaplain shadowing is effective for first-year medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To qualitatively analyze medical student reflections after trauma chaplain shadowing.
• To further characterize the educational impact of this shadowing experience.
• To understand how shadowing influences students' perspectives on spirituality and medicine.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of 90 anonymous student reflections.
• Students participated in a shadowing experience with a trauma healthcare chaplain.
• Reflections were written immediately following the shadowing experience.

Main Results:

• Shadowing provided insights into the nature of chaplaincy and observed relational skills.
• Students bore witness to suffering, fostering professional identity growth.
• The experience highlighted shortcomings in medical education and clinical medicine.

Conclusions:

• Trauma chaplain shadowing enhances medical students' understanding of spirituality in medicine.
• This experience promotes the development of a strong physician identity.
• Chaplain shadowing is a valuable educational tool for medical students.