ACPE Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education Program

Spiritual Care Services, Concord

The Clinical Pastoral Education Program at John Muir Medical Center, Concord  is accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.

John Muir Medical Center, Concord, a part of John Muir Health, is located 20 miles east of Berkeley and is near the Concord BART station. John Muir Medical Center, Concord is a community hospital, offering a broad spectrum of medical and surgical specialty services including oncology, cardiology, and Emergency Services.

Near the campus is the Behavioral Health Center, providing child, adolescent, adult and geriatric psychiatry and drug and alcohol recovery services. Typically, there are as many as 150 inpatients and many more outpatients in the care of the chaplains. CPE students are assigned to virtually all areas of the medical center.

Program

We offer a four unit residency program of accredited CPE each year; each unit lasts eleven weeks, and is full-time September through August, Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Learning is focused on the personal and professional issues in ministry formation and pastoral assessment skills. Our program's particular strengths include a high level of involvement of local religious leaders and a strong sense of community within the medical center. Students are expected to function as the primary spiritual caregivers in the clinical areas, and to participate in all functions of the Department of Spiritual Care.

There are two levels of CPE offered at John Muir Medical Center, Concord. Level I is for all students who are taking their first unit of CPE. It gives students the opportunity to learn about CPE, make some self-discoveries, take risks in initiating relationships and giving critiques, and identify personal strengths and weaknesses inherent in pastoral functioning. Level II CPE includes developing pastoral reflection, formation, competence, and for some students, pastoral specialization. For further information on CPE, please go to http://www.acpe.edu.

The Community

Patients come to John Muir Medical Center, Concord from nearby cities and outlying areas within Contra Costa County. Long-time residents remember when the hospital was a two-room house surrounded by almond orchards. A diverse array of businesses is located in Concord and its surrounding communities ranging from banking services to oil refineries and petrochemical plants. Social, political, environmental and theological issues are often debated in this community.

Tuition and Stipend

Residents in the year-long program receive a stipend of $34,000 w/medical insurance reimbursement up to $350 per month.  Residents pay a non-refundable fee of $200 once accepted into the program.  For students who enroll in single units, there is a tuition cost of $500.00.

ACPE Certified Educator

Rev. Birte Beuck has served as a chaplain and ACPE Certified Educator in various hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area for over fifteen years. Born and raised in Germany, she is an ordained minister with the Metropolitan Community Churches. Birte studied theology at Humboldt Universität in Berlin, Germany, and at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, where she received an M.A. in Pastoral Care and a Master of Divinity. Birte is a certified supervisor with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is also a trained mediator.

ACPE Certified Educator Candidate

Rev. Mariah Callison is the Staff Chaplain and ACPE Certified Educator Candidate at the Concord Campus. Mariah came to John Muir initially as a CPE resident with the 2014-2015 cohort. She was hired as staff chaplain in the Fall of 2015 and began Supervisory training in January of 2016. Mariah earned her Master of Divinity at Pacific School of Religion and is ordained in the United Church of Christ. She is a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. Prior to hospital chaplaincy, Mariah worked as a Respiratory Therapist and in parish ministry as the Director of Christian Education at First Congregational, UCC in Auburn, California. Mariah brings a passion for using art and creativity to the work of self-reflection in CPE.

Application and Fees

To apply to the CPE program at John Muir, please access an application form at https://acpe.edu/education/cpe-students/cpe-application. You may email your completed application to birte.beuck@johnmuirhealth.com. You may also mail your application to: Spiritual Care c/o John Muir Medical Center, Concord, 2540 East St. Concord, CA 94520. We have waived all application fees at this time. Applications for the residency program beginning in September are accepted starting in October of the previous year.