Why Should My Organization Employ Certified Chaplains?

In order to become professionally certified, an individual must complete no fewer than 1,600 hours of specialized clinical and academic training, called Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). By participating in a CPE program, student chaplains from many faith groups learn how to provide enlightened spiritual and emotional care, often to persons who are of another religious background or profess no religious beliefs at all.

Certified Chaplains:

• Do not proselytize. They respect the faith traditions of patients/clients and fellow staff.



• Are astute practitioners of the listening arts and are well versed in modern counseling techniques



• Contribute significantly to the success of disaster management and critical incident response teams.



• Organize pastoral care volunteer programs and other community outreach initiatives.



• Have the academic and clinical experience necessary to help resolve ethical issues and to contribute effectively to bioethics committees.



• Participate effectively on interdisciplinary teams, proactively helping to improve overall patient/client satisfaction with an organization’s services.



• Assist with cost avoidance in difficult cases.



• Provide skilled pastoral care to staff, thereby enhancing staff satisfaction and retention.