Faith Community Nursing
Encyclopedia
Faith Community Nursing, also known as Parish Nursing, Congregational Nursing or Church Nursing, is a movement of over 10,000 registered nurse
s, primarily in the United States
and Canada
, but growing in numbers in the United Kingdom
, Korea
, Australia
, New Zealand
, Swaziland
, Zimbabwe
, and South Africa
, is the intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing
so that people can achieve wholeness in, with, and through the community of faith in which faith community nurses serve.
Faith Community Nursing (FCN) is recognized as a specialty nursing practice. Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice was approved by the American Nurses Association in 2005 and define the specialty as "...the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting holistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community." (American Nurses Association, 2005, Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, Silver Springs, MD: Author, p1)
The Caribbean has joined the community of Parish Nursing and Health Care Ministry with the launching of Health Care Ministry in The Bahamas. It began with an initial course spanning a three-week period and brought together nurses from various denominations and they were commissioned on 27 February 2005.
Initially, the Canadian and Australian models of Parish Nursing were introduced to The Bahamas as an extension of the Pastoral Care Ministries of Diocese 2000 & Beyond, a programme of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands.
To date, we have over sixty persons trained and actively engaged in the ministry as either Parish Nurses or Health & Wellness Carers. Since the ministry began in 2005 it has grown steadily and was known as the Anglican Diocesan Health Care Ministry [Parish Nursing] Council. However, effective 7 March 2008 the name changed to the Ecumenical Health Care Ministry Council.
It is intended that there will be continued training and that the programme will spread throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Caribbean. To this end, the ministry will be recognised by the Bahamas Christian Council and by extension the Caribbean Council of Churches. [Ecumenical Health Care Ministry, Bahamas]
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
s, primarily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, but growing in numbers in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, is the intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
so that people can achieve wholeness in, with, and through the community of faith in which faith community nurses serve.
Faith Community Nursing (FCN) is recognized as a specialty nursing practice. Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice was approved by the American Nurses Association in 2005 and define the specialty as "...the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting holistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community." (American Nurses Association, 2005, Faith Community Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, Silver Springs, MD: Author, p1)
The Caribbean has joined the community of Parish Nursing and Health Care Ministry with the launching of Health Care Ministry in The Bahamas. It began with an initial course spanning a three-week period and brought together nurses from various denominations and they were commissioned on 27 February 2005.
Initially, the Canadian and Australian models of Parish Nursing were introduced to The Bahamas as an extension of the Pastoral Care Ministries of Diocese 2000 & Beyond, a programme of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands.
To date, we have over sixty persons trained and actively engaged in the ministry as either Parish Nurses or Health & Wellness Carers. Since the ministry began in 2005 it has grown steadily and was known as the Anglican Diocesan Health Care Ministry [Parish Nursing] Council. However, effective 7 March 2008 the name changed to the Ecumenical Health Care Ministry Council.
It is intended that there will be continued training and that the programme will spread throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Caribbean. To this end, the ministry will be recognised by the Bahamas Christian Council and by extension the Caribbean Council of Churches. [Ecumenical Health Care Ministry, Bahamas]
Resources for Faith Community Nurses
These organizations help to support faith community nursing and serve a wide variety of faith communities:- International Parish Nurse Resource Center
- Health Ministries Association
- Canadian Association for Parish Nursing Ministry
- Australian Faith Community Nurses Association
- Australian Parish Nurse Resource Center
- New Zealand Faith Community Nurses Association
- Parish Nursing Ministries UK
- HopeandHealing.org Parish Nursing Portal
- - Ecumenical Health Care Ministry
- Greater Lafayette Faith Community Nursing