What Do Parish Nurses Do?

• As health counselors and educators we provide:
  • Health education programs focusing on wellness and disease prevention
  • Information about physical problems & safety concerns
  • Education about emotional struggles & safety concerns
  • Health education to help members understand the signs and symptoms that need to be taken more seriously
  • Information to help members cope with day to day struggles and sources of stress, and teach members about appropriate community resources and resources available within the faith community
  • Blood pressure screenings
  • Help those in need to understand their diagnoses, lab results, medications, and physician instructions

• As members of the faith community team, with the same beliefs, values and practices of the members, parish nurses offer spiritual support through:
  • Active Listening
  • Affirmation?
  • Encouragement
  • Reassurance
  • Prayer
  • Biblical references

• As health care advocates we:
  • Assist members through the often confusing health care system
  • Assist with speaking to health care providers and to family members by explaining the health needs for those who are unable to do so for themselves (with the member's permission)
  • Help people to help themselves

• As a referral resource we:
  • Explain what resources are available in the community
  • Refer members of the congregation, with health care needs, to appropriate community resources
  • Refer members of the congregation to appropriate resources within the faith community
  • Refer members to appropriate support groups

• As volunteer coordinators we:
  • Recruit and train volunteers to serve in various aspects of health ministry
  • Work closely with the faith community committees and resources

What Do Ministers of Health Do?

• Ministers of Health may do many of the same kinds of things. The primary difference is an issue of licensure (which implies independent competency). The above interventions fall within the scope of nursing practice but are not confined solely to the realm of nursing.

• Only registered nurses are licensed to practice nursing autonomously. LPN (Licensed Practical Nurses) and RNs who have dropped their license must take the title of "Lay Minister of Health".

Can an LPN be a parish nurse?

• No, but an LPN can either serve as a Lay Minister of Health or as a member of the health committee as a Lay Minister of Health.

What Parish Nurses and Lay Health Ministers Do Not Do

• Parish/Congregational Nurses are not home health nurses in churches…but we do facilitate access to home care service providers when needed.

• Parish/Congregational Nurses DO NOT PROVIDE HANDS ON CARE. We don't give shots. We don't do dressing changes. We don't administer medications…but we DO facilitate access to community services when needed.

• Parish Nurses are not social service caseworkers…but we can assist you in obtaining a referral to a licensed professional.

• Parish Nurses are not psychiatric counselors…but we listen and guide parishioners through the process of accessing needed emotional & mental health provider services

• Parish Nurses are NOT to be called for emergencies. They educate parishioners about signs & symptoms that warrant prompt attention… permission to call 911 is never needed!

• Parish nurses do not give medical advice. It is outside of our domain to assign medical diagnoses or to recommend prescriptions…but we can interpret medical language, diagnostic meanings, and test findings when parishioners do not understand the meaning of what they have been told. We help parishioners communicate with their physicians more effectively, and offer to be an advocate when invited to intervene.

• Parish nurses are not a substitute for pastors. As Ministers of Word & Sacrament, pastors are better equipped to address theological struggles and offer spiritual counseling.

• Parish Nurse/Congregational Health Ministries - promote wellness with a spiritual dimension.

Why Would a Congregation Want a Parish Nurse?

• Help members of the faith community feel cared about and valued
• May help those who are having difficulty accessing health care
• Provides a whole-person-health perspective by listening, supporting, and advocating for members
• Parish/congregational nurses facilitate communication between faith and health care providers
• Health education may empower pastors to be more effective as healers and advocates
• Through parish/congregational nursing, the faith community is reclaiming it's role in healing, it's right to a voice & it's right to a place in health care for it's members
• May support pastors with the demands of the chronic illness needs of his/her members
• To help build a sense of community through caring
• Faith community nurses create a safe opportunity for sharing
• Parish/congregational nurses help to create a good first step toward a close tie between one's faith and one's health

Most Congregations have Volunteer Nurses but… Why Would A Congregation Want To Pay For A Parish Nurse?

• To demonstrate commitment to the health & well being of parishioners.
• To affirm the pastoral team member aspect of the role…so as to lend permission, stabilization, and acceptance within the congregation
• To affirm and uplift the professional nature of the role…and to thereby empower it
• To enhance a sense of accountability and collaborative effort
• Congregations may affirm their commitment to their health ministry programs through commissioning or dedication services for their nurses and lay ministers of health volunteers if the congregation is unable to pay a salary to their parish/congregational nurse(s). To show complete support and commitment, this program should be included as a line item in the budget of the faith community.

Why Would Health Care Systems Be Involved In Parish Nursing?

• Many health care leaders have personal faith-based value systems.
• Parish/congregational nursing is an expression of faith-based missions & visions.
• Parish/congregational nursing provides a collaborative, innovative, cost-effective partnership
• This faith-based model creates an attitude of caring and whole person concern.
• Reclaims a historical and presently needed partnership in health care.
• Faith-based nursing is helping to heal significant community wide disillusionments with Health Care.
• Health Care is more than medicine. Faith plays a significant role in whole person well being.