It is easy to be overwhelmed with all the different mediums through which you can receive medical information. Many choose to use internet websites which have no regulations on the reliability of information posted; others simply look to their physician network for guidance on matters of their health. An overlooked population is turning to another place to receive important healthcare updates and tips for healthy living: local parishes.
Healthcare is undergoing rapid changes. With shorter hospital stays and decreased staffing becoming the norm, nurses are always looking for creative ways to reach out and touch patients, families and communities. Local parishes are filling a need in promoting awareness to specific issues within their faith based communities. Contrary to the popular belief, this specialty does not focus on disease and end of life care. With the help of parish nursing staff, members gain a health counselor, participate in a variety of support groups and receive valuable health information.
Parish nursing is an older method of nursing practice that is making a resurgence because of renewed interest. In the early Christian church times a person caring for others was known as a deaconess, from the Greek word for service: diakonia. In the Christian religion, the first recorded deaconess was Phoebe in the New Testament (Romans 16:1-2). The practice faded in the middle ages but saw renewal in the 1800’s under the guidance of German Pastor Theodore Fliedner of Kaiserswerth. His philosophy of nursing was studied by Florence Nightingale.
Parish Nursing, also known as faith community nursing, typically functions “within the health ministry to integrate faith and health across the age span of the congregation.” These nurses are RN, BSN’s who serve either as volunteers or in paid positions in an independent setting not only under the standards of practice with their state but also under the standards of their faith. The Parish nurses’ mission is to integrate nursing practice with faith to “achieve wholeness in, with and through” a community of faith.
Dr. Carol Bolwek, conducted a national survey of 82 parish nurses, asking them what their jobs entailed; the results were published in an article about the profession of parish nursing in NSNA Imprint (January 2009). The findings listed below identify the number of common activities parish nurses participated in:
- 80% run hypertension screening on Blood Pressure Sundays
- 80% run many educational workshops
- 50% coordinate health fairs
- 60% visit home and nursing home bound church members
When Dr. Bolwek did her survey in 2009 there were 39 various training programs noted, and in a recent search over 80 were listed both nationally and internationally. The trainings vary in length, price, and training. Some of the content includes spirituality, professionalism, holistic health, health education, and referral agent and community health. The University of Southern Indiana is one of several domestic universities that offer a certificate in Parish nursing.
Parish nursing touches a population of people that take comfort in the familiarity the parish provides and allows them to educate themselves on health matters. These nurses are able to fill professional, personal and community needs all at the same time. Nurses are trained to be holistic so the transition to this career in nursing should be natural. What a wonderful opportunity to “address important needs in the lives of many people.”(Dr. Bolwek)
