Become a Board Certified (BCC) or Credentialed Chaplain (CC)
SCA Leads the Chaplaincy Profession with the Only Nationally-Recognized Certification Standards Backed by Knowledge Testing and Competency Examination.
Currently, more than a dozen chaplaincy groups within the U.S. offer varying education/training, however, no other organization that trains and certifies chaplains can demonstrate the use of a standardized, evidence-based curriculum nor the scoring of knowledge and competency tests. This is the SCA difference, and represents a higher bar than any other chaplain certification process.
Our Standardized Clinical Knowledge Test and Standardized Patient Exam:
- Brings to the profession of health care chaplaincy the same rigor in education, training and testing demanded by other health care disciplines
- Establishes the framework for an ongoing process of implementation, research and quality improvement
Using this groundbreaking and transforming evidence-based model, SCA offers three types of certification:
Chaplain Credentialing (CC): For Chaplains who earn the title of Credentialed Chaplain (CC) this attests to their level of competence in the profession. Requirements for CC To Apply for CC
Board Certified Chaplain (BCC): For Chaplains who have earned or will earn the title of Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) this attests that they have demonstrated competence to perform all of the normal tasks within the scope of practice of chaplains. Requirements for BCC To Apply for BCC
Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplain (APBCC): For Chaplains who have demonstrated advanced skills in the provision of and leadership in spiritual and chaplaincy care by successfully completing a standardized test of core knowledge derived from evidence-based quality indicators for spiritual care as well as a simulated patient exam that evaluates competency in direct patient care. Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplains (APBCC) have been trained and tested in standardized curriculum based on the latest evidence in areas including department management, HIPAA regulations, the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of spiritual distress, cultural competency, advance care directives, patient clinical care, staff support, grief, and bereavement among other essential topics. Requirements for APBCC To Apply for APBCC
Certification Requirements
Requirements to Expand Current SCA Certification
In addition to the three certifications, SCA also offers the Spiritual Care Generalist Certificate for those professionals interested in becoming Spiritual Care Generalists.
Spiritual Care Generalist Certificate: For professionals interested in becoming Spiritual Care Generalists. To learn more or apply, click here. Please note: this is a certificate (not a certification like the three above).
Hospice and Palliative Care Specialty Certification (APBCC-HPC)
SCA offers a Hospice and Palliative Care specialty certification called APBCC-HPC. To learn more about the APBCC-HPC, click here. Below are the general requirements on how to obtain this certification:
About the APBCC-HPC Standardized Clinical Knowledge Test
In addition to the content areas covered in the APBCC test, the APBCC-HPC test includes an increased focus on palliative care and hospice guidelines, especially the National Consensus Project Guidelines, pediatric hospice and palliative care, grief and bereavement, and end of life.