Clinical Pastoral Education

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is an experiential learning program that teaches the knowledge, skills, and reflective practices necessary for effective spiritual care. Working under the supervision of an ACPE Certified Educator, students engage in educational seminars and provide spiritual care to patients. Students explore their clinical work with their Certified Educator and training cohort, building tools for the practice of outcome-oriented chaplaincy. Mount Sinai’s CPE program is accredited for Level 1, Level 2, and Certified Educator CPE by the ACPE: The Standard in Spiritual Care and Education. Our curriculum focuses on:

  • Spiritual Assessment and Outcome-Oriented Chaplaincy
  • Health Equity and Structurally-Effective Care
  • Spiritual Care for Patients with Diverse Spiritual Orienting Systems
  • Ethical Practice
  • Research Fundamentals
  • Leadership, Team Work and Boundaries

For more information about CPE, please visit the ACPE’s FAQ page.

We currently run two CPE programs: a year-long residency, and an 11-week summer program.

If you have questions or would like more information about any of our programs, please email CPEapplication@mountsinai.org.

CPE Residency

Mount Sinai offers a yearlong CPE residency. Applicants must have one prior unit of CPE.

We are no longer accepting applications for our 2026-27 residency program.

The 2027-28 residency will begin on July 19, 2027 and conclude on July 14, 2028. We will begin reviewing applications for our 2027-28 residency in the fall of 2026. Our priority deadline for residency applications is Friday, December 11, 2026. For applicants who submit applications before the priority deadline, we will conduct interviews in January 2027.

CPE residents serve at one of three Mount Sinai locations:

Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Morningside
Mount Sinai West

Summer CPE

Mount Sinai offers an 11-week intensive summer program. The program requires a full-time commitment Monday through Friday. There are no overnight or weekend on-call responsibilities as part of the program.

Our summer 2026 program will begin on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 and conclude on Friday, August 7, 2026. We are no longer accepting applications for this program.

Our summer 2027 program will begin on Tuesday, May 25, 2027 and conclude on Friday, August 6, 2027. We will begin reviewing applications for this program in the fall of 2026.

How to Apply to Mount Sinai’s CPE Programs

  1. Complete our online application form.
  2. Ask three people to serve as references. Send these three people our online reference form and and ask them to complete it. When your references submit the form, it will come directly to us. You should identify one reference from each of the following three categories:
    • Academic or educational
    • Religious, spiritual, or values-based community
    • Personal

Tuition and Deposits

  1. Upon acceptance, a non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot in the program.
  2. Tuition is due at the beginning of the CPE program.

Tuition & Fees

CPE Residency

Summer Unit

Non-refundable deposit

(due upon acceptance)

$100

$100

Tuition

(due by first day)

$0

$700

Total Cost

$100

$800


ACPE Certified Educators

Rabbi Jo Hirschmann, BCC, ACPE, FACHE
ACPE Certified Educator
Senior Director of Education, Department of Spiritual Care and Education
Associate Professor of Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine
Jo.Hirschmann@mountsinai.org

Jo Hirschmann is a board-certified chaplain, an ACPE Certified Educator, and a rabbi ordained by the Reform Movement. She serves as the Senior Director of Education for the Department of Spiritual Care and Education, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is a co-author of Maps and Meaning: Levitical Models for Contemporary Care, and she teaches and writes about chaplaincy practice and spiritual care education.

Rabbi Rachel Van Thyn, BCC, ACPE
ACPE Certified Educator
Rachel.VanThyn@mountsinai.org

Rabbi Rachel Van Thyn is a board-certified chaplain and an ACPE Certified Educator.  After working in the Jewish community in social justice-oriented positions and in the Jewish camping world, she discerned a call to the rabbinate.  She was ordained through Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City and served as Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth-El of Great Neck on Long Island, NY before returning to chaplaincy. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Rachel facilitated CPE units online, where students learned to provide spiritual care in the midst of a global crisis. Rachel has worked as a chaplain in a variety of medical settings including cardiology, pre/post-operative areas, and palliative care. She currently serves on the ACPE Advocacy Committee, which engages with issues of justice within the fields of chaplaincy and education.

Accreditation

Mount Sinai’s CPE program is accredited for Level 1, Level 2 and Certified Educator CPE by The ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education.

1 Concourse Pkwy, Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30328
www.acpe.edu
404-320-1472

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