Application for Chaplain Jeni Cook Women Veterans HealthSpecialty Certification
**Please email application and all required application material to .
- Personal Information
Name:
VA Medical Center:
Position:
Work mailing address:
Work phone:
Fax:
Work email address:
Current dues-paying member of VA Women Chaplains’ Network (required) Yes ___
Board Certified Chaplain(required) with APC ____ or NAVAC ____
- Requirements
A. Must be an APC or NAVAC Board Certified Chaplain for at least one year before applying for the Women Veterans Health Specialty Certification.
B. Clinical experience: Completion and documentation of a minimum of two (2) years of clinical experience in women Veterans health care. In each of the two (2) years, applicant must be able to document or demonstrate by written narrative that a minimum of 30% of the applicant’s time is with women Veterans.
The Lead or Chief Chaplain must provide a letter verifying that 30% of the applicant’s time is devoted to women Veterans. If less than 30%, the Lead or Chief Chaplain must provide justification.
C. Education: Completion and documentation of taking one classor reading its content on-line in each of the 15 areas of Women Veterans Health:
1. addiction and recovery
2. eating disorders
3. end of life
4. fertility
5. grief and loss
6. homelessness
7. interpersonal violence (IPV)
8. mental health
9. midlife health
10. military sexual trauma (MST)
11. musculoskeletal disorders (MSD)
12. neonatal and perinatal loss
13. pre-and post-menopausal issues
14. suicide
15. transitions from military to civilian life: watch:
Additionally, the applicant must be able to demonstrate
- thorough knowledge of all power points on the VA Women Chaplains’ Network website
- working knowledge of Handbooks, Directives, and VA Resources for Women’s Health Care located on
Here are suggested courses through TMS and other sources:
1. Improving the Health of Women Veterans: Effective Clinical Tools for Eating and Weight
Concerns
2. Recent Research on Women Veterans' Mental Health: What's Important for Clinicians to
Know?
3. VA Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program: A Comprehensive Approach to ending IPV
for Veterans
4. Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
5. Adverse Childhood Events and Complex Trauma among Women Veterans
6. A Women's Mental Health Clinic: Implementing a Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program
(BHIP)
7. Mental Health During the Menopause Transition
8. Relationship Enhancement Skills for Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Survivors
9. Women and the Substance Use Disorders
10. Treating Insomnia in Women Veterans
11. Clinician Reactions to Working with Women Veterans: The Importance of Self-Awareness
and Self-Care
12. Gender Differences in Recovery from Sexual Trauma: Implications for Clinical Care
13. An Integrative Approach to Chronic Pain and Disabling Somatic Distress in Women Veterans
14. Suicide Prevention for Women Veterans
15. Women Veteran Mental Health: Mindfulness Practice Treatment of Women Suffering the
Fallout of Trauma
16. Helping Women Recover From Psychiatric Disability and Find Living Wage Employment,
presented by Dr. Kate Comtois, March 9, 2017 - on the Women’s Mental Health SharePoint
site: vaww.portal.va.gov/sites/OMHS/WMH
17. Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) presented by Drs. Laura Miller and Yael
Nillni, July 13, 2017 - on the Women’s Mental Health SharePoint site:
vaww.portal.va.gov/sites/OMHS/WMH
18. VA Post Deployment Care for Women Combat Veterans presented by Post-Deployment
Integrated Care Initiative (PDICI) Community of Practice (COP) Call, July 14, 2017 – archived
in CALL FOLDER
19. Women Veteran Health Issues, Women Veterans and Midlife Health, presented by Dept. of
VA, EES and Post Deployment Health Services, VA 34622/18.BC.MA.WRIISCSS.B, Nov 28,
2017
20. Women Veterans’ Mental Health: Emerging Trends, Challenges, and Innovative Responses,
presented by Swords to Plowshares, Sep 20, 2017
D. Competencies:
Must demonstrate the following competencies and have one or more members of the interdisciplinary team sign-off on this Colleague-Observed Competencies Checklist:
1.Identifies and observes professional boundaries in providing pastoral care to women Veterans in the context of interdisciplinary team-based cooperation within the scope of chaplaincy practice, and facilitating engagement with professional health care providers. ______
2.Provides spiritual assessment and care to women Veterans, integrating this into interdisciplinary, team-based approaches as appropriate. ______
3.Formulates a spiritual care plan, informed by interdisciplinary cooperation and in-depth attention to the individual needs of women Veterans. ______
4.Is knowledgeable regarding the many areas that intersect with the lives of women Veterans including: addiction and recovery, eating disorders, end of life, fertility, grief and loss, homelessness, interpersonal violence (IPV), mental health, midlife health, military sexual trauma (MST), musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), neonatal and perinatal loss, pre-and post-menopausal issues, suicide, and transitions from military to civilian life. ______
5.Writes clear, concise medical record notes regarding the provision of spiritual care
with women Veterans. ______
6.Provides support to professional health care providers and others providing care
and support to women Veterans. ______
7.Promotes bi-directional exchange of referrals with as indicated by women Veterans’
needs. ______
8.Works with other disciplines to promote the integration of pastoral and spiritual care
for women Veterans. ______
9.Serves as a subject-matter expert to interdisciplinary teams on spiritual issues,
including how these issues may impact women Veterans. ______
10.Contributes to ethical discussions to advocate for women Veterans’ needs related
to issues of faith, spiritual health, and well-being as appropriate. ______
11.Facilitates theological reflection with women Veterans’ consent in a manner that
honors their diverse faith traditions and experiences. ______
12.Exercises sensitivity, openness, and respect in establishing, deepening, and ending
clinical relationships with women Veterans. ______
E. Three (3) recommendation letters:
1. One from the Women’s Health Care Program Manager.
2. One from the MST (military sexual trauma) coordinator or IPV (intimate partner violence)
coordinator.
3. One from an interdisciplinary health care team member who works with women Veterans
that includes the above signed-off Competencies Checklist.
F. One to two pages (double-spaced) description of the applicant’s professional progression from Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) to Chaplain Jeni Cook Women Veterans Health Specialty Certification applicant. “Professional progression” means demonstrating an understanding and implementation of care, bi-directional referrals, spiritual assessment, documentation, and professional collaboration for Women Veterans Health. This paper needs to include the applicant’s ways of self-care.
G. An essay(maximum 5 pages, double-spaced) describing all aspects of the applicant’s spiritual care with women Veterans, including a clinical case studywhich pragmatically demonstrates the following aspects:
1. Actual practice of spiritual care in women Veterans’ health.
2. A clinical case study
a. Comprehensive spiritual assessment and plan of care.
b. Integration of spiritual care to enhance women Veterans’ health in providing
holistic service.
c. Integrative team approach to the care ofwomen Veterans.
d. Utilization of evidence-based or research-informed approaches to spiritual care
for women Veterans.
e. Suggestions for a quality improvement process that could enhance the delivery of
spiritual care for women Veterans in the case study.
H. An actual presentation and the accompanying script of no more than 20 slides. The presentation should be created by the applicant in collaboration with a women Veterans’ health care provider colleague or informed by some of the above trainings, with the purpose of educatingproviders, other chaplains, or the broader community of how spiritual careis integrated into Women VeteransHealth Care.
- $25.00 Application Fee
Check is to be made out to: VA Women Chaplains’ Network and mailed to the VA Women Chaplains’ Network, P.O. Box 160772, San Antonio, TX 78280.
- Interview
by a VA Women Chaplains’ Network committee.
The applicant will be contacted to set up a conference call interview with two BCCs
on the committee to discuss the materials. After there are BCCs who hold the
Chaplain Jeni Cook Women Veterans Health Specialty Certification, at least one of
the BCCs on thecommittee will have this Certification.
The interview will be about one hour in length.
A summary of the committee’s evaluation will be sent to the applicant and the VA Women
Chaplains’ Network committee withinthree days.
In the interview, applicant is expected to be able to discuss all aspects of Women
Veterans Health.
- Continuing Education Requirement
10 hours/year of continuing education in Women Veterans Health.
- Peer Review
will be conducted every five years by the VA Women Chaplains’ Network committee.
Note: If any questions, contact the chair of the work group of this proposed application, Chaplain Lyn Juckniess at .
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