313 Vol. 39, No. 5 Editor’s Note: Send submissions to jfreeman3@kumc.edu. Articles should be between 500–1,000 words and clearly and concisely present the goal of the program, the design of the intervention and evaluation plan, the description of the program as implemented, results of evaluation, and conclusion. Each submission should be accompanied by a 100-word abstract. Please limit tables or figures to one each. You can also contact me at Department of Family Medicine, KUMC, Room 1130A Delp, Mail Code 4010, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS 66160. 913-588-1944. Fax: 913-588-2496. JoshuaFreeman,MD,FeatureEditor AlisonDobbie,MD,FeatureEditor InnovationsinFamilyMedicineEducation An emerging body of evidence demonstrates spirituality’s ben- eficial role in patient care. 1-3 In response to that evidence, the Association of American Medi- cal Colleges (AAMC), 4 the World Health Organization (WHO), 5 and the Joint Commission on Accredi- tation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) all recommend including spirituality in clinical care and edu- cation. Currently, more than 50% of medical schools 6 and 31% of family medicine residencies 7 offer courses on spirituality and medicine. How- ever, a 2006 MEDLINE search revealed few articles evaluating spirituality curricula. 8-10 At Brown Medical School, we developed, implemented, and evaluated a 17- hour elective designed to improve learners’ knowledge and skills regarding spirituality and patient care. For 2 years, we presented this elective to fourth-year medical stu- dents (MS4s), and subsequently we opened it to residents, faculty, and staff. In this article, we describe our initial 4-year experience and report our evaluation data. Methods Curriculum Design and Development Brown Medical School is a private medical institution, in the northeastern United States, with ASpiritualityandMedicineElectiveforSenior MedicalStudents:4Years’Experience,Evaluation, andExpansiontotheFamilyMedicineResidency GowriAnandarajah,MD;SisterMaureenMitchell,DMin From the Department of Family Medicine, Brown Medical School (Dr Anandarajah); and North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY (Sister Mitchell). Background: Evidence suggests that spirituality is important in patient care and medical education, yet there are few reports of spirituality and medicine curricular evaluation. Methods: We developed, implemented, and evaluated a 17-hour elective on spirituality and patient care for 4 consecutive years. We presented the elective to 10 fourth-year medical students (MS4s) in years one and two and to eight MS4s and 15 residents, faculty, and staff in years three and four. We evaluated knowledge and skills using pre-course and post-course questionnaires and written cases and learner satisfaction using course evaluations. Results: Students’ knowledge improved on the evidence about spirituality, clinical resources, role of chaplains, approaches to patient care, and recognizing spiritual distress. Reported course strengths included diversity of topics and instructors, universal principles, small-group format, case discussions, and opportunity for self-reflection. Comments reflected enhanced value in the “mean- ing in medicine” and “whole person care.” Conclusions: Senior medical students rated the elective positively and increased their knowledge of spirituality and medicine. It was also positively received by residents, faculty, and staff and paved the way for residency curricula in this subject. (Fam Med 2007;39(5):313-5.)