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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*.

 

Code of Ethics for ACPE Members statements 3 A. B.

 

3. In relation to ACPE members:   
a. continue professional education and growth, including participation in the meetings and affairs of ACPE.

b.  avoid using knowledge, position, or professional association to secure unfair personal advantage; do not knowingly permit their services to be used by others for purposes inconsistent with the ethical standards of ACPE; or use affiliation with ACPE for purposes that are not consistent with ACPE standards.

 

Garrett Starmer, ACPE Certified Educator, Emeritus, retired (mostly) and living in Gig Harbor, Washington.

 

We Educators, Pastoral Counselors, and Chaplains, know the value of education but can get so busy and caught up in the urgent needs of the moment, that we put to the side our educational needs or do not stay connected with our peers. Not engaging in ongoing education and not staying connected to colleagues can be like not exercising physically or not attending to our spiritual life. The tyranny of the urgent is front and center. It screams for attention. Like with physical or spiritual exercise, we do not benefit from educational seminars, connecting with colleagues, or attending a Community of Practice event if we do not do them. The lack of attention to our physical, spiritual, educational, or relational needs will have obvious consequences over the longer term! 

 

In the last few weeks, I started exercising physically again. I am amazed at how energetic I feel and even find myself excited to get things done that have been waiting on my “to do” list. In an analogous way, after attending our CoP’s spring zoom three-hour education event, I felt stimulated intellectually to think through and integrate new and previously known concepts. It was wonderful to see and interact with friends and colleagues, on the call. The same was true when I participated in the ACPE/APC Annual Conference and an Anti-bias workshop! The ACPE is in many ways my professional “home,” a community where I belong. I miss when I do not stay connected and am not continuing to learn and grow! 

 

The Code of Professional Ethics provides guardrails for our thinking and behavior. I want us to fully live the Ethics standards within our Association and community. This is not only for our good, but also for the good of our students, patients, and others we serve! In many faith traditions, there is the precept of treating others as we wish to be treated. In my Christian tradition, it is called “the golden rule.”  When I think of seeking “unfair personal advantage” in anyway, I hark back to the idea of ‘how would I like to be treated.”  Using such empathy will help us avoid taking “unfair personal advantage” of others and help us seek the good of all. 

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