New divinity program helps nursing students build resilience in high-stress field

A partnership with the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University is helping to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of nursing students as they experience the everyday stress that comes with the responsibility of caring for patients’ critical health needs while working their required clinical hours at area hospitals.

Each week, students in the School of Divinity’s Center for Chaplaincy offer counseling and prayer for nursing students. Individual sessions are held in a designated office space in the School of Nursing in DeMoss Hall. Chaplaincy students also provide clinical debriefs for groups of students who have gone through traumatic events while on clinical shifts, and often visit classes to share information pertaining to medical ethics. They also attend monthly faculty meetings to encourage nursing students, faculty, and staff.

“We have students who have had very traumatic experiences in the healthcare setting,” School of Nursing Interim Dean Tracey Turner said. “They always come to the faculty, and the faculty doors are always open to support them. But to get that additional support from chaplaincy adds a different layer to the amount of support that we are able to give them.”

Turner said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the stress that nurses already experience on a daily basis and prompted the idea for collaboration between the schools.

“Students appreciate the collaboration and knowing they have points of contact in the chaplains when they experience a challenging situation in the clinical setting.”

She said they aim to make the program longstanding, even after the current chaplaincy students graduate in May.

“It does take a special person to be able to fulfill the role because it is a big-time commitment and they are already committed with schoolwork and their own families,” Turner said.

Shane Bost (’19) received his Bachelor of Science in Religion – Biblical and Theological Studies and is currently finishing his Master of Divinity with a concentration in Professional Chaplaincy: Community. Two years ago, he was one of the first students that the Director of the Center for Chaplaincy, Dr. Steven Keith, recommended for this new program. Keith mentors the chaplains and oversees their activities.

“There’s this multilateral balance in what chaplains do that’s beyond just counseling services,” Bost said. “What is awesome about these two schools coming together is that, in particular for the Center for Chaplaincy, we get to exercise the very things we are trained to do in our program within Liberty.”

The program affords students from both schools a glimpse of what nurse and chaplain interaction can look like once they graduate and are working in hospital settings.

“It’s a time to really put the theology we’ve learned from books into practice,” said Kaleb Williamson, who is also in his final semester of his Master of Divinity with a concentration in Professional Chaplaincy: Military. “Being able to take the experiences we’ve gone through in this program and grow from this is going to help in later discussions down the road, either in a healthcare setting or in a military setting.”

Keith explained that this partnership can also help the nursing students to understand the role that chaplains play in hospitals.

“This is an early connection for the nursing majors to see that the chaplains are teaming together with them, and as the nursing students are helping patients physically, the chaplains are caring for the patients spiritually. It’s a team effort,” he said.

Turner said she is impressed by the pastoral care provided with intentionality.

“What I love about Kaleb and Shane is that they just literally come around to check on us,” she said, adding that includes School of Nursing staff.