BCCI News & Updates May 2020
Throughout the last three months we have heard from many of our certified chaplains how much of a toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their personal and professional lives. Self-care has been more important than ever before as we juggle our new realities at work and at home.
One of the ways that our members have been advocating for themselves is by reaching out to APC about what options they might have in 2020 concerning the 50 hours continuing education (CE) requirements for maintenance of certification. With all the other burdens that we are carrying right now and with a lot of educational opportunities being cancelled, worrying about where we are going to get our 50 hours of CEs is not something we should need to be worrying about right now..
And as working chaplains who also need those 50 hours each year, the APC board of directors and the BCCI commission on certification have heard and agree with your concerns and have come up with several ways in which that burden can be made a little lighter.
- We have provided 5 webinars recordings which are free to view through June 30th (NOW extended to December 31, 2020). Each one provides you with education on coping with issues concerning the pandemic.
- We have provided opportunities for round table and support group discussions since March 27th which have helped many learn and process these changes and count for 1 hour of CE each – with more to come!
- Our APC website has a COVID-19 resource page that has a list of articles, webinars, and other online educational opportunities that your reading or participating in will count toward the 50 hours.
- And for 2020 you may earn 15 hours of continuing education by submitting a brief 1-3 page reflection on your experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some suggestions to get you started:
- What have your learned through this pandemic?
- How have you processed the anxiety and stress?
- How have you cared for yourself?
- Summarize your journal.
- Share your creative writing.
- Memorialize those we have lost.
- Share lessons for the future.
Your reflections will not be “graded” or looked at to make sure they are done the “right” way. We have all learned way more than can be accounted for during this time, whether you served on the front lines of a hospital in a major city, or if you were furloughed from your position at a rehab facility, and we want to give you the opportunity to get credit for that education through these reflections.
If you would like to have your reflection shared, send as a pdf file to education@professionalchaplains.org. A limited number will be selected to be added to our resource page as a way for us as a community to capture this moment and what it meant to our profession.
When you fill out your report at the end of the year, you will log 15 hours of CE under methodology 2 (Writing) and include your written reflection at the end/bottom of your CE report. That’s it. No other requirements. Just capture your thoughts and share with us.
APC instituted the 50 hours of continuing education many years ago as a way to help encourage chaplains to continue to learn and grow in our skills and competencies, and to help us stay current in the ever changing landscape of our profession. Now more than ever each of us must continue to learn ways of navigating this new reality that we are living and serving in, and we are doing this in many different ways, that will likely go beyond the 50 hours that we require. Throughout the rest of this year, APC will continue to find ways of providing these educational opportunities for our members, and as you discover other articles, webinars, books, or research about chaplaincy and spiritual care, please share those with us so that we can add them to our resource page.
If you have questions about certification or interviews, please email bcci@professionalchaplains.org.
