Scholarship and Research

At the Perelman School of Medicine, faculty in collaboration with medical students have been actively engaged in research and scholarship involving medical student instruction in spirituality and health, the role of chaplains in spiritual care and end-of-life issues.

Medical Student Instruction in Spirituality and Health

• Gomez S, White B, Browning J, DeLisser HM. Medical Students' Experience in a Trauma Chaplain Shadowing Program: A Mixed Method Analysis. Med Educ Online. 2020;25:1710896. .
• Suda S, Burkebauer L, White B, Browning J, DeLisser HM. Medical Students’ Reflections on Their Experiences in a Trauma Chaplain Shadowing Program.  Am J Hosp Palliat Care, 2023 Jan 2:10499091221149192. 
• Douge N, Toperzer R, DeLisser HM. Spirituality and Health Summer Internship Program: Adapting Clinical Pastoral Education for Medical Student Instruction in Patient Spirituality. Palliat Med Rep. 2025;6(1):76-83. 

Role of Chaplains in Spiritual Care

• Gomez S, Nunez C, White B, Browning J, DeLisser HM. Chaplain-Physician Interactions from the Chaplain’s Perspective: A Mixed Method Analysis. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2021; 38(11):1308-1313. 
• McCurry I, Jennett P, White B, DeLisser HM. Chaplain Care in the Intensive Care Unit at the End of Life: A Qualitative Analysis. Palliat Med Rep.  2021; 2(1):280-286. 

Issues at End-of-Life

• DeLisser HM. A Practical Approach to the Family that Expects a Miracle. 135:1643-1647, 2009
• DeLisser HM How I conduct the family meeting to discuss the limitation of life-sustaining interventions: a recipe for success. Blood. 116:1648-54, 2010.
• Kayser J, DeLisser HM. Ethics and Palliative Care in Critical Care Units, in Grippi MA, Antin-Ozerkis DE, Dela Cruz CS, Kotloff R, Kotton CN and Pack AI.  (Eds.) Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 6^th, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, pp. 2659-2665, 2023.

• Braun LW, Pedros CM, Cotter HM, David Dean D, DeLisser HM, Prado-Ribeiro AC, Martins MD, Santos-Silva AR. Spirituality and Religiosity in Adults with Head and Neck Cancer: A Scoping Review of Concepts, Measures, and Outcomes.  Oral Dis. 2026 Apr 14. https://doi.org/10.1111/odi.70335. Online ahead of print.