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Any registered nurse with a current license who embraces the concept that spiritual care is an important part of a person’s wellness can serve as a parish nurse. Licensed practical nurses, allied health professionals, and lay persons may serve in this ministry of health and wholeness, under the direction of a registered nurse. Special training in the relationship between faith and health is required. What do parish nurses do? Parish nurses are usually volunteers in their faith community but some are members of a paid church staff. All work closely with the pastoral staff and under the general direction of a congregational health council. Keeping the parish nurse roles in mind, congregational activities may include the following:
The activity of the parish nurse is often shaped by the needs of the congregation, the area of expertise of the parish nurse, and the amount of time that the parish nurse works or volunteers. How do I become a parish nurse? The parish nurses of Meritus Health invite you to join them in this exciting ministry! An annual parish nurse education program is conducted by Meritus Health in partnership with Hagerstown Community College. This offering for 16.6 contact hours is provided by the Maryland Community College Association for Continuing Education & Training, which is accredited as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. For more information about parish nursing or educational preparation contact What is the history of parish nursing? Parish nursing as we know it today was developed by a Lutheran minister, the Reverend Dr. Granger Westberg. Dr. Westberg originally envisioned parish nursing as a partnership between healthcare systems and congregations, linking resources of the healthcare system to the faith community. He recognized the church as being a place that promoted health and wholeness for centuries through worship, music, sharing, and caring. In addition, communities of faith are an institution that interacts with individuals from birth through death.
In 1998, parish nursing or faith community nursing was accepted as a specialty by the American Nurses Association. It is estimated that 12,000 parish nurses are in practice across the United States. The countries in which parish nursing is practiced today include Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, England, Ghana, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Ukraine, the U.S., Wales, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. What is the history of the Meritus Medical Center Parish Nursing Program? Gail Petre, RN, MS, pioneered the parish nursing program at Washington County Hospital in 1996. Six congregations joined in partnership with this new and exciting health ministry. Those churches were Hagerstown Church of the Brethren, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Welty Church of the Brethren, Christ’s Reformed United Church of Christ, Hancock United Methodist Church, and Mt. Zion Mennonite Church. Ms. Petre retired in 1998, and Wendy Zimmerman, RN, BSN, took on the parish nurse coordinator role. Currently, Meritus Health partners with fifty congregations and supports the work of over one hundred unpaid parish nurses.
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Who can be a parish nurse?
Originally developed in 1984 as a partnership between Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, and six area congregations, the ecumenical movement has now become international in scope. Having a nurse in active congregational ministry provides a unique forum for health promotion and disease prevention. Members of a faith community, knowing that a nurse is available on an informal basis, can discuss a health concern with the nurse before it becomes a chronic or serious condition.
