Mission

The mission of the BAMC Residency in Clinical Pastoral Education is to provide advanced clinical training for military chaplains, with emphasis on interfaith spiritual care training with the aim to achieve self-awareness of one’s strengthens and challenges in the delivery of spiritual care as a military Chaplain serving in a pluralistic and interfaith community context, resulting in the leadership development of spiritual care providers and enhancement of combat readiness.

Vision

• To provide comprehensive, personalized spiritual care to the whole person.
• To provide opportunities for the community to gather in worship.
• To offer all the rites and rituals of passage that give life purpose, meaning and connection.
• To offer quality continuing adult theological education and spiritual growth.
• To highlight our understanding of the resident’s calling, empowerment, and mission through providing pastoral care and counseling to others.
• To hold each other accountable through learning covenants, documentation of patient records and by taking leadership roles as a member of the healing multidisciplinary team(s).
• To develop a milieu of collegiality in networking with other clinical pastoral education programs in the city, state, and country.
• To provide creative, innovative pathways for selfcare as spiritual care providers.

Aims

Clinical Pastoral Education models and develops “professional competency, integrity and high ethical standards” in diverse ministry settings. Also, it promotes battlefield readiness through crisis/trauma interventions, through understanding group dynamics under stressful/austere conditions, through its interaction with deployed personnel in a joint base setting.

The educational curriculum includes specific pastoral care responsibilities, a learning contract, individual and group supervision, structured reflection, clinical seminars, didactic seminars, experiential (art) seminars, integrated readings, theological movies, workshops, conferences, retreats, mid-year consultation process and final unit evaluations. Supervision and program management will be provided by a person authorized by ACPE. (Authorized – authority given by ACPE for a specific person to serve as primary certified educator for a unit of CPE in a program accredited by the ACPE, i.e., ACPE Certified Educator or Associate Certified Educator.)

Orientation

During the orientation process the administration, mechanics and requirements of the program are discussed and negotiated. Team building processes are begun to establish a sharing group atmosphere that can be conducive to learning as the students get to know one another. Specific learning goals are established according to each student's needs. They share these and their personal concepts of ministry with their Certified Educator and peers.

Learning Contracts

One of the basic assumptions of our teaching-learning methodology derives from the understanding that learning best occurs when the student is an active participant in the learning process. Consequently, we consider that the basic responsibility for what the student learns is theirs. Based on the learning concerns and interests the student brings to CPE, students will be expected to write out their specific learning goals and present these to their individual supervising Certified Educator and peer group for consultation toward an agreed learning contract. The learning contract gives respect to the student as a professional and as a learner who knows what it is he or she wants to learn and honors the student's motivation to proceed. It also provides an opportunity for the student to make use of both individual supervision and a group of colleagues with whom to journey in the desired learning. The learning contract is negotiated at the beginning of each unit, though it is re-negotiated throughout the program.

Interpersonal Relationship Group

This is an unstructured group experience involving the training group and the supervising educator. It provides a forum for concrete experience, observation and reflection, formulation of concepts, and testing of new behaviors. It meets weekly for one to one-and-a-half hours per session. This group has the following objectives:

1. To provide an opportunity for students to receive feedback and learn from each other;
2. To assist students in experiencing themselves in relation to others;
3. To facilitate students' ownership and awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in interpersonal relationships;
4. To foster an appreciation for the "Koinonia" quality of a small group which allows them to be themselves and both give and receive support, clarification and confrontation;
5. To develop their ability to integrate their personal attributes into personal, pastoral, and professional relationships.

Clinical Seminars

The verbatim or case study report will be presented by the students in rotation and will be discussed from the standpoint of the clinical, psychological, and theological issues involved. These seminars will provide an excellent vehicle for the students' learning to see how their personal issues affect their pastoral functioning. The following are objectives for these sessions:

• To assist students to identify their pastoral care style, examine that style, and make choices about whatever growth they would like to pursue;
• To test their theological beliefs as these apply to their style of ministry;
• To facilitate exploration of behavioral science skills and their integration into their ministry;
• To enable students to discern the uniqueness and nature of their pastoral role;
• To broaden their concepts of ministry to include inter-disciplinary contributions;
• To provide a meeting for examining students' relationships with authority;
• To assist students in exploring personal history and personality traits and in gaining an understanding of how their ministry is affected by these aspects of life.

Didactic Seminars

At least once a week the students participate in a Didactic Seminar. The subject matter is planned to respond to the needs of the students. These seminars provide an opportunity for students to interface their learning in the area concepts and generalizations regarding pastoral care.

Individual Supervision

Each student meets with the supervising educator for one hour per week for Individual Supervision. This is primarily an unstructured session in which the student can receive individual supervision concerning his/her learning.

Structured Reflections

A variety of structured reflection papers (verbatim, evaluations, theological reflection papers, etc.) will be provided for the student to guide their reflections on their experiences in ministry. These typed reflections will be shared with the supervising educator and the peer group during seminar times for feedback opportunities for the student.

Theological Movies

In addition to ministry experiences with the "living human documents," movies will be utilized to provide living drama experiences as they speak to a variety of pastoral care issues. Guided reflections and sharing further focus and facilitate the learning potential provided by this tool.

Integrated Readings

Articles and books will be suggested or required by the supervising educator throughout the program for either individual learning or for group seminars. The professional libraries in our setting and outside areas provide significant resources for student learning.

Final Unit Evaluations

Final Unit Evaluations provide the students an opportunity to reflect over the previous ten weeks of learning and to integrate that learning in a written evaluation paper. These are reviewed within the peer group for feedback.

Weekly Trauma Call Responsibilities and Ward Assignments

Retired and active duty military officers are invited annually to lecture and interact informally, providing mentorship to the residents during the course of the year.

Students are required to complete a year-long research project as a part of their CPE coursework.

CE Courses

The program supports participation in continuing education courses, which are crucial for staying current with advancements in chaplaincy.

Workshops and Seminars

Opportunities to attend or even host educational seminars on new technologies, Interreligious and Multi-cultural Sensitivity Training, Moral Injury and PTSD Training, and or military-specific spiritual care.

Professional Conferences

Attendance and presentations at meetings like the regional meeting of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education.

Brooke Army Medical Center

Application Materials and Procedures

Applicants are informed of their need to apply by their functional Chain of Command. This program is only available to active duty Air Force chaplains. Each year, the USAF Chief of Chaplains’ Office defines the process of selecting 12 AF Chaplains who exhibit leadership qualities to apply for the six Residency slots given each Class of CPE students. The application involves completing the ACPE Application form, essays on their life, ministry, and why they desire this type of training, a case example of their military ministry to a care recipient, letter of intent, letters of recommendation, and copies of their graduate-level academic transcript. In addition, the application must include an interview by a CPE Educator or a clinical practitioner with at least four units of CPE and or status as a Board-Certified Chaplain.

Selection Procedure and Admission Criteria

Decisions are made based on both academic, military experience, the completed essays, and the interviewer’s final summary letter. The final decision on the class membership remains in the AF CPE Program Director’s hand.

Helpful interview guidance to applicants is included with the Introductory letter sent out to the 12 applicants selected by the Chief of Chaplain’s Office.

Program graduates meet the requirements for candidacy to become board certified by the NAVAC, APC, NACC, etc..

Residents are often paired with Chaplain Preceptors who provide guidance on both clinical and military career progression.

These wellness initiatives are designed to support the overall well-being of residents, ensuring they remain healthy, balanced, and motivated throughout their training.

Mental Health Support

Access to mental health professionals for individual counseling sessions.

Physical Wellness

Multiple on-base gyms and fitness classes available to residents.

Nutritional Support

On-base access to wellness resources on nutrition and healthy eating habit available to residents.

Work-Life Balance

Flexible Schedule

Efforts are made to create flexible work schedules that allow residents to balance their professional and personal lives.

Time Off

After each CPE unit the residents have a week to either claim leave or make up clinical hours they may have missed. This allows them to recharge and achieve balance in their professional and personal lives.

Professional Development

Programs focused on developing leadership skills and resilience.

Peer Support

Opportunities to share experiences, challenges, and successes with fellow residents at CPE Residency Day, CPE Resident Luncheon, and national and regional conferences.

Educational Resources

Access to books, articles, and online resources focused on wellness and self-care.