Parish Nurse Ministry
A Parish nurse is a registered nurse who works with a Health Care Ministry Team through education and advocacy to:
- Assess both the needs and resources of a faith community
- Coordinate holistic programming (physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual and relational)
- Assist congregants in being stewards of the God-given gift of life.
A Parish nurse (PN) is now also known as a Faith Community Nurse (FCN) and is Recognized by the American Nurses Association (ANA) as a specialty practice in nursing.
There are seven main roles recognized as the predominant work of the Parish Nurse:
- Integrator of Faith and Health
- Personal Health Counselor
- Health Educator
- Trainer of Volunteers
- Developer of Support Groups
- Referral Agent
- Health Advocate
Round Lake United Methodist Church received a Troy Annual Conference Critical Issues funding to grow their Parish Nursing program and share the journey by assisting local congregations in exploring this ministry opportunity.
With the help of the grant, Round Lake United Methodist Church has established a Health Care Ministry Team, which supports the Parish Nurse in ministry development and delivery. We chose a combination of people who did and did not have medical backgrounds to be on the team. It took us about six months to prepare through educating the church leadership, and another six months to get the team up and functioning while educating the congregation.
The faith community--both congregants and the community in which the church is located--can become recipients of the Parish Nursing ministry. This can be seen as a stewardship, discipleship and outreach ministry, but is often linked with health and welfare
Parish Nursing looks at Holistic care--not just physical well-being. In the context of our faith we encourage believers to find healing in all aspects of their lives.
Assessment
One of our nurses used her Master's Research Project to co-revise an assessment tool useful in determining what programming would best reach the congregation. From the results of our congregational survey, we began monthly blood pressure screenings, hosted a Men's Health dinner with guest speaker, participated in a walking program, "Saratoga on the Move," and linked to a national program for diet and exercise behavior modification.
The Parish nurse is not a hands on caregiver, S/he does not replace the congregatants primary care-giver and is not a public health or visiting nurse.
The Round Lake United Methodist Church (RLUMC) Parish Nurse and Health Care Ministry Team wants to share their journey with your congregation. Contact Jane Stratton, Parish Nurse Coordinator for RLUMC at (518) 899-2533 or by email janestrattonrn@yahoo.com or jrsrn@nycap.rr.com. Watch for district rollout plans where initial interest will be addressed with eventual one-on-one consultations with churches wishing to further proceed in pursuing this type of ministry.
Of interest to the nurse professional, Faith Community Nursing has its own Scope and Standards of practice which was recently revised and re-published. For more information about the role of the Parish Nurse, visit the International Parish Nurse Resource Center on-line.
The General Board of Health and Welfare offers resources for holistic health care ministries in United Methodist congregations on-line.
