Parish nursing/faith community nursing is 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.

The faith community nurse (FCN) is knowledgeable in two areas—professional nursing and spiritual care. As a member of the staff providing spiritual care in the faith community, a FCN has these goals:

• Protecting, promoting, and optimizing health and abilities
• Preventing illness and injury
• Responding to suffering in the context of the values, beliefs, and practices of a faith community such as a church, congregation, parish, synagogue, temple, or mosque

Health ministry is the intentional reaching out to others by a faith community that promotes health. It includes the intrinsically health promoting qualities of a congregation and health services provided with the support of a health professional. It respects the culture in which it is expressed among those it serves. (Dr. Mary Chase-Ziolek, 1999.)

What Does a Parish Nurse Do?

A parish nurse fulfills a variety of roles.

• Health counselor—Discusses health concerns, emphasizing early response to small problems, and encouraging healthy lifestyle changes.
   
• Developer of support groups—Facilitates the development of support groups for the faith community and others served.
   
• Health educator—Provides opportunities for the congregation to learn about health issues, individually and in groups.
   
• Advocate—Speaks out to help members of the congregation or community obtain needed health-related services.
   
• Volunteer coordinator—Recruits, prepares and oversees congregational volunteers, who help those in need.
   
• Integrator of faith and health—Helps parishioners achieve higher levels of wellness by improving both spiritual and physical health.
   
• Referral advisor—Provides referrals to healthcare and social services within the community.

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Parish Nursing in Northwest Washington

Parish nurses serve in these counties in Washington:

• Island
• King
• Kitsap
• Pierce
• San Juan
• Skagit
• Snohomish
• Thurston
• Whatcom

They represent 26 denominations, including but not limited to:

• Lutheran
• Catholic
• UCC
• Episcopal
• Baptist
• Free Methodist
• Christian Reformed
• Covenant
• Presbyterian
• Methodist
• Christian Missionary Alliance
• First Christian
• Evangelical Free
• Community Churches
• Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
• Unity
• Seventh Day Adventist
• Unitarian Universalism

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What does a parish nurse do?

Parish nursing in NW Washington

God called me to a job where I could combine my skills as a nurse with His word as I serve His people.

Copyright © 2007 Puget Sound Parish Nurse and Health Ministries. All rights reserved.
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