CPE cultural immersion through pairing CPE residents with local religiously diverse families.

This study evaluated a religiously diverse cultural immersion program for clinical pastoral education (CPE) residents at Houston Methodist Hospital System (HM). HM has two cohorts of CPE residents each year, with one at the main hospital and the other at their suburban hospitals. Participants in this qualitative interpretative phenomenological study (IPA) included 20 residents from 2024 and 2025, who were interviewed individually regarding their experiences being paired with a host family from a religion other than their own during their residency. Fifteen themes emerged supporting the concept of the program as instrumental in equipping CPE students to become culturally/religiously humble in caring for people from multiple faith traditions. Students also identified challenges in executing the program and made suggestions for improvement. Themes were matched with Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators (ACPE) Level IIA Outcome Indicators demonstrating that the program aids students in meeting several competencies.