After retiring from the public service, I turned to
parish nursing. It came about when I was reading an article in the Canadian Nurse journal on
parish nursing, which resonated with me; this is a community service whose main mission is spirituality, health promotion and disease prevention.
She was a long-standing member of the New Zealand Faith Community Nurses Association (NZFCNA) and worked as the parish nurse at Nelson Cathedral from 2001-2008, during which time she attended an international
parish nursing conference.
Currently she is the Director of Magnet, Professional Practice and
Parish Nursing at Carle in Urbana, Illinois.
In the UK,
parish nursing has been developing slowly over the last 10 years in a variety of churches.
I am happy to report that our region has warmly received
Parish Nursing and holds it in high regard!
As with African roads,
parish nursing may not be the most glamorous idea around.
Churches or synagogues who are interested in establishing a position of Faith Community or
Parish Nursing will find this book is an extremely helpful tool to acquaint you with this newer nursing specialty.
Norma's long-term goals are to continue her work as a clinical instructor in a community projects course with last semester senior nursing students, continue to coordinate the online
parish nursing course for SLU's Continuing Education Department, and will continue to respond to nursing requests as long she feels up to the challenge and enjoys the work.
Parish nursing was first envisioned in the early '80s by the Rev.
Lancaster includes a chapter written by Cynthia Gustafson titled: The Nurse in
Parish Nursing.
She said faith community nursing, also known as
parish nursing, is the fastest growing specialty in nursing nationwide.
Faith Community Nursing, also known as
Parish Nursing, Congregational Nursing or Church Nursing, is a movement of over 10,000 registered nurses, primarily in the United States and Canada, but growing in numbers in the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.