For your professional ethics edification in October

Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members.  Each posting is accompanied by a brief personal reflection from a member of the PEC discussing some ways this person lives these commitments*.  October statements are:

5. In conducting business matters, ACPE members:

1. Carry out administrative responsibilities in a timely and professional manner.
2. Implement sound fiscal practices, maintain accurate financial records, and protect the integrity of funds entrusted to their care.
   

Cristina Stephenson, PEC Chair and ACPE Certified Educator from SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri, comments:

When I began my certified educator career 15 years ago, I thought all I wanted to do was educate students. “Let someone else do the dry, tedious, draining work of administration! Just let me be with the students!” was my thought.  I later discovered a deep connection between creating a rich learning environment for students and creating a sound administrative environment. In her book Redeeming Administration Ann Garrido writes that “administration is a spiritual pathway by which good people can become better.” She identifies spiritual habits, such as vision, generativity, trust, integrity, humility, courage, reflectiveness, humor, and hope, being refined by carrying out administrative responsibilities and implementing sound financial practices. These are the same habits we try to instill in our students for their practice of pastoral/spiritual care. When we are overwhelmed and overworked, it is easy to lose focus of the deep connection between education and administration. Yet, our code of ethics calls us to become better not simply in our business matters, but through our business matters.