SPECIALIZATION, THE BEAUTY OF CHAPLAINCY PROFESSION AND CHAPLAINCY PRACTICE.

SPECIALIZATION, THE BEAUTY OF CHAPLAINCY PROFESSION AND CHAPLAINCY PRACTICE.

Preamble:

Just as professionals in various professions and disciplines of the world have areas of specialties and specializations; the practicing chaplains in chaplaincy profession have their own areas of specializations. In this write up, I have ventured into comparing specialists in:-

      i.        Medical profession and practice with their counterparts in chaplaincy profession and practice.

    ii.        Engineering profession with chaplains in chaplaincy profession.

Comparison of practicing professionals from different professions with chaplains:

Medical Profession:

1.    Medical Doctors (Physiciansmd):

General Medical Practioners (GP). These are medical doctors and practioners who after their graduation from medical school and housemanship are licensed by Nigeria Medical Association in Nigeria to practice general medicine as a general practioners (GP) and licensed by various licensing authorities, or medical associations of other nations of the world.

General chaplaincy practioners. These are practicing chaplains, who after their studies in general chaplaincy and related courses graduate from such institutions and the school of professional chaplaincy practice, and are commissioned and licensed to practice chaplaincy in Nigeria or any nations of the world as General Chaplaincy Practioners (GCP). These chaplains are trained to attend to people in general.

2.    Specialized Medical Doctors called Specialists:

Family Doctors: They are sometimes called Family Physicians. These are specialist doctors who after their graduation in general medicine proceed to study and specialize in family medicine and issues. They are specialists who are better disposed to provide better and adequate care to families and members and family institutions all over the world.

Family Chaplains. These are specialist chaplains who after their studies and graduation in general chaplaincy studies and school of professional chaplaincy practice; proceeded for further studies in family related matters and fields, make their services available to the general public as specialists in family matters and issues. They are better disposed to handle marriage and family issues.

3.    Paediatric Doctors (Children Doctors):

These are medical doctors who specialize in the care and treatment of children as specialists in every nation of the world. As specialists, they have better understanding of problems of children and they professionally offer the needed care and treatment to children. They have greater sympathy to children.

Paediatric Chaplains (Children Chaplains):

These are specialist chaplains, who specialize in providing the needed care and attention to the needs and challenges of children with the views of counseling and guiding them and reducing their sufferings, eliminating such problems where possible or proffering the needed solutions to problems confronting children in order for them to live an enjoyable and meaningful life. These specialist chaplains are better disposed to serve children world over.

4.    Psychiatric Doctors:

These are specialist doctors, who have given themselves to offer psychiatric care and services to people in societies of the world, who have mental and patients with psychiatric problems or people of our generation who are suffering from mental problems or insanity. These specialists are better disposed to care for and treat patients with insanity and mental problems across the world.

Spirituo-psychotherapists:

These are chaplains who have been specially trained and equipped to provide the needed therapeutic care spiritually, emotionally and psychologically to people who suffering from all forms of insanity without the use of drugs.

5.    Psycho-therapists:

These are specialists chaplaincy profession who have given themselves to seek to proffer solutions, care and treatment to numerous people who have psychological problems, whose emotional stabilities have been eroded, and have lost their equilibriums in life. These specialists, offer psycho-therapeutic care, intervention and treatment to people who require their specialized services across the world. These specialists have no match or equivalent amongst the medical doctors as they do not employ medications and drugs in their therapeutic services and care.

6.    Mental Health Doctors:

These are also specialist doctors, who specialize in taking care of people with mental health problems in the societies of our world. These specialists are different from psychiatric doctors as they do not attend to the same type of people or patients. Mental health doctors are better disposed to provide care and treatment to people suffering from mental health problems in our world.

Mental Health Chaplains:

These are specialist chaplains, who specialize in providing the needed care and attention to people who are suffering or bedeviled with various mental health problems (not insanity) with the views of relieving them of these problems and dealing with the stressors causing such problems thereby enhancing high productivity, life stability and coping capacity in such citizens.

Engineering Profession:

1.    Civil Engineers:

These are professional practicing engineers specializing in the studies and profession after they have successfully completed their studies, have graduated, registered by the Nigerian Society of Engineers to practice civil engineering in communities and societies of the world. They provide civil engineering services to the civil population of nations of the world.

2.    Mechanical Engineers:

These are specialist engineers who specialize in offering mechanical engineering services to the public in societies across the nations of the world.

3.    Electrical Engineers:

These are engineering professionals who specialize in providing electrical engineering services to the people and institutions of the world.

4.    Aeronautic Engineers:

These are engineering professionals, who offer engineering services (Electrical Engineering Services) to the general public and people of our world. They provide engineering services to airlines, plane manufacturing industries.

5.    Structural Engineers:

These are engineering professionals, who specialize in providing engineering services to people and institutions of our world. These engineering specialists provide structural service to people.

6.    Oil Engineers:

These are engineering professionals, who provide engineering services in the oil sectors in various oil producing nations of the world. Oil engineers or petroleum engineers.

7.    Agricultural Engineers:

These are engineering professionals who specialize in the provision of engineering services in the agricultural sector of the economy.

8.    Marine Engineers:

These are engineering professionals who offer engineering services to the people in the maritime industries, ship building industries and shipping industries across the nations of the world.

And many more.

Chaplains:

1.    Civil/Civic Chaplains:

These chaplains are practicing professionals who care to offer chaplaincy services and care to the citizens of nations of the world, publicly and privately as well. These set of chaplains are better disposed to serve the public, citizenry and civilian population with chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery.

2.    Industrial Chaplains:

These are chaplaincy professionals who offer chaplaincy care and service delivery to the people in the industrial sectors and communities of our economy globally.

3.    Environmental Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains offering or providing chaplaincy care and service delivery to the natural environment provided for us by God and ecology the nature has provided. They provide spiritual care and spiritual oversight in a way that honours humanity’s deep connection to the earth.

4.    Oil and Gas Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to numerous people of the oil producing areas of the world.

5.    Community Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to various communities of the world with the intention of proffering the needed solutions to problems particular to such communities. The community here goes beyond residential community to group of people, age group, professional groups.

6.    Public Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to the general public in public institutions across the world.

7.    Private Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, who are responsible for taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to private individuals and corporate entities across the world and engage in private chaplaincy practice.

8.    Cruise Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, providing professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to people who travel on the seas across the world. The chaplains here are known as “The Apostles of the sea.”

9.    Port Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to port and coastal communities and the seafarer whose ship berth or anchor at the port all over the world. They are the link between the community and the sea farers.

10. Maritime Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, who have the responsibility of taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to the people and maritime industries and sector of the economy.

11. Airport Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, who have the responsibility to take professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to numerous people in the aviation industries of the world.

12. Critical Incidence Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, taking professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to people of the world who are in crisis, disaster and emergency situations

13. Fire Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains, providing and offering professional chaplaincy practice, care and service delivery to people and victims of fire incidents as well as to their relations.

14. Sport Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains offering chaplaincy care and services to people in the sporting industry and sector.

15. Music/Entertainment Chaplains:

These are practicing professional chaplains offering chaplaincy care and services to people in the music and entertainment industry and sector.

In conclusion, Chaplaincy profession can be seen to be a multi-dimensional profession with lots of specializations in the professional practice. All chaplains are called chaplains, yet they do not all serve the same industry or work in the same industry. There are therefore, variations amongst chaplains according to the specialized areas or fields they belong to. Chaplains may therefore rightly be called by their specializations such listed above.

Chap. Prof. David Mike-Jacobs JP, AP, BSC, MBA, PHD, D.D, DED, THD.

DMin. Chaplaincy Major, CPC, CCE, CBC.

Professor of Anthropology.