Faith-Based Nursing
Faith community nursing, sometimes referred to as parish nursing, is a specialty in nursing that takes a holistic approach in health care to ensure the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness of an individual and the community as a whole. Faith-based nursing is very similar to other forms of nursing. However, a faith-based community nurse applies their nursing skills and knowledge to help a patient identify their health and spiritual needs, supports them to develop plans to achieve these goals, and take control of their lives. Faith community nursing revolves around promoting healthy living, providing support, preventing, and minimizing illnesses by intervening before a disease becomes acute in a faith community.
Faith Community Nurse
A faith community nurse FCN is simply a registered nurse RN who has specialized in delivering care within the context of a given faith community. FCNs are specialized in professional nursing as well as spiritual based care.
Becoming a parish nurse
Faith community nursing is a relatively new profession. It was introduced in the early 1980s by a Lutheran pastor and chaplain named Granger Westerberg, who saw how perfectly faith practice aligned with medical care. It was officially recognized as a nursing specialty by the American Nurses Association in 1998.
Anyone interested in becoming a parish nurse must first become a registered nurse by obtaining either an Associate Degree in Nursing ADN or a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing BSN and then completing NCLWX-RN exams to acquire licensure.
Duties of a faith community nurse
Faith community nurses integrate the physical, psychological, and social aspects of an individual to help them regain wholeness in the body, mind, and spirit. They are also educators, enlightening the community of specific health issues such as diabetes, blood pressure, and other matters relating to health. In addition, they act as advocates participating in different groups and boards to air and seek resources for the needs of their faith community. This may involve setting up doctor’s appointments, visiting the patients in the hospitals, and addressing any other needs they may have. They are also actively involved in spiritual care through prayer, religious rituals, and involvement in counseling and support groups.
Where do faith community nurses work?
Most faith community nurses will work in churches. However, they can also work in social service agencies and hospitals. Most of these hospitals are faith-based organizations and have chapels, chaplains, and other spiritual leaders who are actively involved in providing guidance and addressing the spiritual needs of the patients.
