The first training for the new micro-credential badge will be offered in October.
Elon University is excited to announce the launch of Bridging Faith and Health, a micro-credential badge focused on patient religious diversity developed by a team of faculty members with support from Interfaith America.
Assistant Professor of Nursing Jeanmarie Koonts, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Helen Orr, and Brian Pennington, professor of religious studies and director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society, have created a program that enhances intercultural competence for the students in the School of Health Sciences.
The Bridging Faith and Health Micro-Credential Badge certifies that students in the School of Health Sciences at Elon University have received training in religious literacy and faith consciousness for healthcare settings.
“The program is important because it builds on the foundational knowledge that pre-health students receive about social determinants of health, and it challenges them to expand that view in light of current evidence-based research,” said Koonts.
The certificate program aims to provide pre-health students with knowledge about religious communities and to expand their comfort in engaging patients in dialogue about their comprehensive health needs.
“In a religiously and culturally diverse world multifaith literacy is an essential skill,” said Orr.
Koonts notes that such literacy is central to the mission of the School of Health Sciences: “Educating clinicians who can provide individualized, safe, appropriate, compassionate client-centered care is the benchmark we are striving to achieve through this and all our educational endeavors,” she said.
Students completing the certificate will attend sessions on the relationship of patients’ faith to healthcare decision-making, healthcare outcomes and healthcare equity. Students who attend all three sessions and complete a post-test and reflection will earn the badge, and their certification will appear on their Elon Experiences transcript.
Interfaith America, a Chicago-based non-profit that promotes US pluralism, selected Koonts, Pennington and Orr as part of the 2024-25 Faith and Health Fellows cohort to develop this certification course centered on holistic client-centered care. Interfaith America supports fellows in conceiving and implementing academic initiatives that advance awareness and understanding of the impact of religious identity and practice in healthcare settings.
Three information sessions will be held on Oct. 15, 22 and 29 from 12 to 1 p.m. in the Francis Center (Room 178). More information can be found here.