Christina M. Puchalski, August 2002

Dr. Puchalski is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Care Sciences at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC. She is also Founder and Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWISH).

Dr. Puchalski has pioneered the development of numerous educational programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate medical education in spirituality and medicine. Her spirituality curriculum at George Washington University was one of the first in the country and received the John Templeton Award for Spirituality and Medicine. Her research interests and expertise include the role of spirituality in health care and end of life, the role of clergy in health and in end of life care, and evaluation of education programs in spirituality and medicine. Dr. Puchalski is co-chair of a national education conference co-sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Associate Course Director of Harvard Medical School and the Mind/Body Medical Institute’s annual Spirituality & Healing in Medicine conference. Additionally, Dr. Puchalski is the Convener for Robert Woods Johnson’s Last Acts Spirituality Committee.

Dr. Puchalski has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals as well as other national journals and media outlets. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, and in major newspapers across the country. She is the recipient of the AAMC and Pfizer’s Award for the Medical Humanities Initiative 1999, and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey’s faculty Humanism in Medicine Award 2001. Dr. Puchalski’s work in the field of spirituality and medicine encompasses the clinical, academic, and pastoral application of her research and insights.