CPE at Northside Hospital

Northside Hospital is a placement site of the Institute for Chaplaincy and Pastoral Education, Care and Counseling Center of Georgia. With this affiliation we enjoy the best of both worlds - the resources of a large, highly-regarded system, and the benefits of the small group learning experience in a vibrant, dynamic clinical context. Here’s an idea of what to expect if you choose to do CPE with us…

About Northside Hospital
Opening its doors in 1970, Northside Hospital was the first hospital to build north of downtown Atlanta. As of the spring of 2007, the main Atlanta campus will have 537 beds, with campuses in Alpharetta, Cumming, and Canton as well. Northside is easily accessible near the intersection if I-285 and Ga 400, or by the Medical Center MARTA station. A not-for-profit community hospital, Northside has been named as “Atlanta’s Most Preferred Hospital for Overall Healthcare Services” in the National Healthcare Market Guide since 1997. Renowned for its expertise in women’s services, Northside ranks first in the nation among community hospitals in the number of babies delivered (over 18,000 annually). Northside Hospital’s specialists perform more surgeries than any other hospital in Georgia, and diagnose and treat more cases of breast and gynecological cancer than any other hospital in Georgia. Northside has more than 6,000 employees and one of the largest physician staffs in the southeast.

The patient population is as diverse as Atlanta, with patients from every religious, socio-economic, racial and ethnic background. Northside Hospital is a member of the Planetree network of hospitals which focus on innovations in patient-centered health care of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

Focused, individualized, and group learning from clinical experience
The CPE supervisory staff at Northside Hospital understands that our patients are our best teachers, that learning requires support for taking risks, and becoming a reflective practitioner of the art of pastoral care is a professional responsibility. Our ACPE Certified Supervisors are Dr. Mary Crist Brown and Dr. Gene Locke, with a combined 25 years of supervisory experience. Individualized contracts for learning give focus to the educational process. The small group interpersonal process offers a transformative experience for the student who is open to learning about self as the instrument of relational ministry.

CPE has been an integral part of Northside Hospital patient care for over 16 years. We enjoy strong administrative support for the program and CPE residents and interns are welcomed by the clinical staff. Each student is assigned a clinical area as her or his “Parish”, and serves in the overnight and weekend on site on call duty. The on call experience at Northside Hospital is challenging, but most often remembered as the experience that contributed the most to a more confident sense of pastoral identity and authority.

Support for your learning through the Department of Pastoral Care
We believe that the student who experiences support from peers, colleagues, and supervisors translates that experience into better patient care. Staff and students meet together at the start of each weekday morning for 20-30 minutes for clinical communication, mutual support, and focus on our intention as pastoral care givers for the day. We meet weekly for department community meeting, which often includes clinical case consultation and in-services in which all of us learn together. Our staff chaplains serve as professional role models and clinical mentors for CPE students. Chaplains Donna Goddard and Bridgette Hector for women’s services, and Laura Dorsey and John Nieman for oncology are committed to supporting CPE students in their learning and functioning as a team. Our singular priority is to offer the best quality patient care that we can., and we need each other to do that.

All Inquiries: Call Gene Locke at 404-851-8752