What do you do as a Parish Nurse?

So what do you do as a Parish Nurse?

LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN!

PRAY FOR! PRAY WITH!

 

 

Educate and facilitate the process of care

• Living wills, advanced directives, durable power of attorney, financial assistance, transportation
• Find, evaluate and plan for alternative living arrangements such as in-home care, assisted living, day care, nursing homes, etc.
• Medication education, use of alternative treatments (herbals, meditation, relaxation)

Counsel with parishioners

• Utilize community agencies such as hospice, meals on wheels, area agencies on aging, senior citizen's resources, self-help resources
• Teach appropriate application of medical directives or orders, use of prescriptions, provide dietary guidance
• Coping with crises, support to care-givers, family members and friends
• Assess safety of the home environment
• Seek or suggest counseling for mental issues, such as depression
• Seek other appropriate care upon request, from physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners, dietitians, home care agencies, social workers, medical equipment companies, Ombudsmen

 Provide and promote health education for parishioners.   Seek outside resources and provide classes of interest or necessity.  Some sample classes could be:

• "Feeding Your Spirit"
• "Gaining a Healthy Lifestyle" - may be for women only, or teens, etc.
• "Using Your Faith to Enhance Your Lifestyle"
• "Depression-Prevention and Treatment"
• "Forgiveness and its Impact on Your Heart"
• *Coordinate and facilitate training activities, such as HeartSaver (CPR), Visitation, or Lay Health Team members
• *Coordinate and facilitate screening activities, such as Blood Pressure Screening (including follow-up monitoring), Health Heart Assessments for women, Bone Density Screening for men and women, or multi-screening fairs.
• *Obtaining information regarding prevention, diagnosis, treatment, continuing self-care for parishioners for various medical conditions (including pre-op and post-op care)
• *Home follow-up after surgery and/or hospital discharge

Ministry is accomplished by:

-home visitation

-office hours

-workshops

-telephone contact

-letter writing

-consultation and referral

-support groups

 

The professional nurse functions as a member of the pastoral team to promote health and foster healing among the members of the church community. The parish nurse does not provide invasive or hand-on treatment, such as administering medications, changing dressings, or providing personal care.

 

How do you do all this? Ah, there's the rub, especially since every parish nurse ministry is different. I would certainly welcome step-by-step instructions because just about everything you find is characterized by vague, non-directive language. I'll post what I can in upcoming blogs.

 

References:

Ruth I Stoll, DNSc, RN. November 2000. (With minor editing by me. Sorry Ruth...)