Competencies of the PCHAC Chaplain
The applicant for Palliative Care & Hospice Advanced Certification shall demonstrate mastery of 14 professional competencies, both experientially in the applicant’s practice and in the knowledgeable application of the palliative care/hospice literature. The demonstration of competencies should reflect the advanced and specialized work required for palliative care/hospice, beyond the skills and knowledges of the Board Certified Chaplain. The committee will be looking for advanced practice and the special sensitivities, behaviors, and unique concerns of the palliative care/hospice chaplain. While it is understood that an applicant may be more experienced in a particular setting, such as home hospice or hospital-based palliative care, it is expected that the applicant for BCC-PCHAC will demonstrate mastery across the continuum of palliative care/hospice.
- Integrate the history of the hospice movement and the subsequent expansion of palliative care, while differentiating between the current philosophy and goals of palliative care and hospice in practice.
- Familiarity with state and federal laws regarding Advance Directives and other end- of-life practices.
- Demonstrate an integrated knowledge of implications of medical treatment for life-threatening or life-limiting illness as it impacts a patient’s physical, psycho-social, emotional, and spiritual pain.
- Demonstrate utilization of family systems theory incorporated in the practice of palliative care and hospice as applied to care recipients, families and health care providers.
- Apply culturally appropriate, evidence-informed strategies for addressing the breadth and depth of multifaceted grief including complicated and anticipatory grief to extend to bereavement resources.
- Incorporate a working knowledge and integration of psycho-social, emotional and spiritual perspectives to function as a communication and emotional expert in the practice of palliative and hospice care.
- Demonstrate effective communication and facilitation of goals of care family meetings that align treatment plans with patient’s values and/or advanced care plans.
- Demonstrate collaborative and facilitative leadership with care recipients, family, teams, and organizations.
- Demonstrate best practices in palliative care and hospice spiritual assessment and documentation to facilitate aligning patient values and goals with the treatment plan.
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of the difference in the provision of advanced practice chaplaincy care as care recipients and families negotiate through the trajectory of a life-threatening illness in various settings.
- Demonstrate knowledge and skill in addressing ethical dilemmas at end of life and concerns as related to spiritual and/or religious issues.
- Demonstrate and model the ability to attend to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of the transdisciplinary team.
- Demonstrates the ability to teach and educate through articulating and integrating current research of best practices for the provision of palliative care and hospice chaplaincy care.
- Participate in quality improvement projects and/or research to increase standard of palliative care and hospice care provided.
