April 2019 Vol. 21 No. 2

A History in Pictures...

The history of the Association of Professional Chaplains is long and rich. APC was founded when several groups joined together with the goals of strengthening their profession and sharing resources for the benefit of their members and those they served.

Recently, the APC office became home to some significant artifacts that help tell the story of the origins of professional chaplaincy and the individuals and groups that molded the profession in those early days...Read More

News:

BCCI Certification News & Updates

BCCI and the Commission on Certification have some significant updates and announcements for current certified chaplains, recently certified chaplains, and those seeking certification. Please review these announcemnts below and contact BCCI if you have additional questions.

Deadline for the fall Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification workshop is July 31^st. The workshop (Action/Reflection) will be held at the APC offices in Hoffman Estates on September 27 & 28, 2019. Contact the APC office for more details.
BCCI Commission on Certification and Board approve NEW policies governing plagiarism, ethics, and professionalism. Read the policies.
BCCI announced their first Military Specialty Certification Chaplain - Major Kent Lundy BCC-MC...Read More

Final Call for 2019 Award Nominations

Nominations for APC's Annual Leadership Awards are due into the APC office before the end of April. We are currently accepting nominations for the following APC Awards:

Anton Boisen Professional Service Award
Distinguished Service Award
Outstanding Local Leadership Award
Retired Chaplain Award

You may review the criteria and process for submitting nominations on the APC website.
Want to make a nomination and have questions? Contact the APC office for assistance.

APC Announces Fall Symposium

APC is pleased to announce the 2019 Symposium - Spiritual Care in a Clinical World: Integrating Character, Skills and Outcomes - Thursday, September 26, 2019
Details regarding speakers and registration will be announced soon!

CSU's May 2019 Cohort for "Essentials of Palliative Care Chaplaincy" Closing Soon...

California State University in conjunction with Association of Professional Chaplains is now accepting registrations for a new cohort for their course "Essentials of Palliative Care Chaplaincy" beginning May 1, 2019. APC would like to remind our members that they receive a 10% discount on their registration by using the promo code. This code is restricted to members only and you must log-into the member page to receive it.

Visit the CSU Institute for Palliative Care page to learn more about this exciting course.

APC & BCCI Offer Many Ways to Get Involved

In recent weeks you may have come across an email or two encouraging you to nominate yourself or others for the APC Board of Directors or to submit your proposal for an educational program. While these are very visible ways for our members to be involved with APC, there are a lot of ways for you to serve your association and the profession by volunteering with APC and BCCI.
Currently APC is looking for volunteers to serve on number of standing committees and more...Read More

The 2019 APC Conference is Coming Up Soon!

This year's APC Annual Conference registration is off to a strong start. If you have been considering registering for the conference, now is the time!

Featured Professional Development Intensives Include:

Re-entry: Leaving Residency and Entering Professional Chaplaincy (Wednesday)
Embodiment Practice for Professional Chaplains (Wednesday)
On Demand Spiritual Care with Congestive Heart Failure Patients (Thursday)

Workshop sessions, Professional Development Intensives(PDI), the American Red Cross Training session, and the APC Hotel Room Block are all fliing up fast. Visit the conference web pages to learn more about the educational opportunities, events and how to register. Register Now

Ideas:

Letting a Loved One Go: When Someone Dies in the Emergency Room

by Douglas S. Phillips MDiv BCC

I’ve worked in Trauma Chaplaincy for nearly nineteen years. Most everything I’ve learned about this unique ministry came from simple trial and error. I’ve made plenty of social and spiritual miscalculations in my time, but those teachable moments have provided me with a valuable education. I am glad to be able to share what I’ve learned and to pass on information I wish I’d known when I began. Through the years, I’ve written on topics such as “A Trauma Protocol For Chaplains” and “Living As A Burn Survivor: Implications For Pastoral Care."

I’ve never been able to find any literature on a trauma subject that has been a source of mystery for me throughout my ministry. How do you help families who’ve lost loved ones to let them go? There are a number of complex variables involved, which I will outline in this brief article...Read More

Creating a Multi-Faith Worship Space in a Small Urban Hospital

by Sarah Spieldenner BCC

What is a director of spiritual care to do when she must create a new hospital worship space with a $100,000 grant from a kind Catholic benefactor?

The administration of our urban stand-alone, safety-net hospital, which on a given day cares for about 275 in-patients, was in agreement with me, as Director of the Spiritual Care Department at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, that we could not create an airport lounge-like worship space out of a desire not to offend. One administrator claimed, “That’s not us.” Even though we knew a multi-faith chapel could not possibly suit the religious needs of everyone, we decided to try to be as inclusive as we could...Read More

Resources:

National Consensus Project: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th edition

Many people living with a serious illness who are receiving treatment for their condition, whether heart failure, lung disease, cancer or another illness, don’t have access to palliative care, which can make all the difference in how they feel physically, emotionally and spiritually. New palliative care guidelines set out to improve access to this care, which provides relief from the symptoms and stress of serious illness; improves quality of life for both the patient and the patient’s family; and is provided concurrent with disease-focused treatments...Learn More

2018 Chaplain Compensation Survey - Free to APC Members

APC Members are invited to access the 2018 Chaplain Compensation Custom Survey Report. This Report is free to APC members and those institutions that participated in the survey. Mermbers can access this study by logging into their APC Member profile and selecting Resources from the top banner and then "Survey Results" from the menue on the right hand side.
Non-members can purchase a copy of the report in the APC Store.

Resource Reviews for Continuing Education and Reference April 2019:

The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath
Leslie Jamison (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018, 534 pages, hardcover, softcover, Ebook, audio CD)

The World as Sacrament: An Ecumenical Path Toward a Worldly Spirituality
Michael P. Plekon (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017, 252 pages, softcover, Ebook)

A Year of Spiritual Companionship: 52 Weeks of Wisdom for a Life of Gratitude, Balance and Happiness
Anne Kertz Kernion (Woodstock, VT: Skylight Paths, 2016, 176 pages, hardcover, softcover, Kindle)

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Memorials:

APC extends our sympathy to the family and friends of members who have died. Memorials are listed on the website in alphabetical order by last name.

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APC Forum: News and Ideas in Chaplaincy Care invites the submission of articles from members of the association and others connected to the chaplaincy field. APC Forum is the successor publication to APC e-News.
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