Introduction
Faith Community Nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the sprit as well as on the promotion of wholistic health and prevention or minimization of illness within the context of a faith community” (ANA, 2012, as cited in Breisch, Hurley, & Moore, 2013 p. 12). When you think about faith community nursing the term “wholistic” probably comes to mind. This is not to say that other nursing disciplines do not incorporate wholistic care into practice, however, spiritualism can easily be neglected due to sensitivity, barriers, or clear differences between the nurse and patient beliefs.
There are four key components of faith community nursing which include; spirituality, professionalism, wholistic health, and community. With faith community nursing there are no barriers when it comes to spiritualism, because the congregator and nurse often share common beliefs, therefore nursing skills along with spiritual support can be incorporated into care. In addition, faith community nursing places a huge emphasis on health promotion, and disease prevention.
“Faith community nurses are educators, the volunteer trainers, the health counselors, the referral agents; they are trusted professionals who bridge the gap between the congregant and the health care system” (Donnelly, 2014 p. 9). Consequently, because of the various roles in faith community nursing, the nurse must be able to adapt to the specific needs of members of the community and congregation in which they serve. In reviewing and studying various peer-reviewed articles, and journals from different databases, it was determined that faith community nurses play a vital role in providing spiritual support, health promot...
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...th education, healthcare, and spiritual guidance. The faith community nurse will see people from all walks of life, and will care for individuals and families. The nurse must be empathetic, utilize active listening and open communication to establish rapport. Also, because members of the congregation and community will view the church as a “safe place”, patients will need to feel accepted by the nurse in order to open up about sensitive topics. Clearly, not all communities share the same needs. Therefore, the faith community nurse must be in tune to the specific needs of members of the community in which they serve. All in all, the nurse will not only care for the physical body and its needs, but also to the needs of the mind, and sprit, keeping in mind that a wholistic approach is the groundwork for health promotion, education, and the minimization of disease.
While the major thrust of this manual is to help Christians in a nursing home ministry, this final part enlarges the scope a bit to help churches organize to meet the needs of elderly people both inside and outside of nursing homes.
Schmidt, C. (2004). In our community: One vision followed by thousands. Lippincott's Nursing Center.com,104(8), 36-37. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/JournalArticle?Article_ID=517471
Every person’s needs must be recognized, respected, and filled if he or she must attain wholeness. The environment must attuned to that wholeness for healing to occur. Healing must be total or holistic if health must be restored or maintained. And a nurse-patient relationship is the very foundation of nursing (Conway et al 2011; Johnson, 2011). The Theory recognizes a person’s needs above all. It sets up the conducive environment to healing. It addresses and works on the restoration and maintenance of total health rather than only specific parts or aspect of the patient’s body or personality. And these are possible only through a positive healing relationship between the patient and the nurse (Conway et al, Johnson).
Vincent nurses, provides a framework for professional nursing practice guided this research. As the business of healthcare is about taking care of people, the model starts with the patient, and their family, as the central focus. Surrounding the patient, are the concepts of mind, body and spirit, which cause us to think holistically regarding the care provided. Finally, the core values/ faith based practices, guide us in managing our patients in a way that is consist with our culture/ values, supportive of our professional growth, encourages the use of best practices, that result in better outcomes, and makes us productive in a way the encourages giving back outside the hospital as well (Stone, 2011).
The concept of person refers to the recipient of nursing care, such that no person is the object of care and no aspect of wellbeing is left out (Arnold & Boggs, 2001; Thorne, Canam, Dahinten, Hall, Henderson, & Kirkham, 1998). This not only includes disease and illness states, but also psychological, social and spiritual dimensions. Therefore, factors such as gender, lifestyle, behaviors, beliefs, values, coping skills, habits, perceptions and lived experiences are considered (Arnold & Boggs, 2011). This holistic and multi-centered approach also extends to families, communities, and populations (Schim et al., 2007). The concept of person is central to nursing theory and research, and is fundamental to the, “Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses,” as outlined by the Canadian Nurses Association (2008). In practice, ‘person’ is used to guide client teaching and nursing interventions (Kozier, Berman, Snyder, Buck, Yiu, & Stamler, 2014).
General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience that nursing can serve as a platform for sharing the gospel and love of God which is one of the values of God according to John 15:12. Introduction: I. Attention-getter Florence Nightingale ’s quote: “Surgery removes the bullet out of the limb, which is an obstruction to cure, but nature heals the wound. So it is with medicine; the function of an organ becomes obstructed; medicine so far
This paper will discuss three different religions that a health care provider may care for in the nursing field. It will discuss the spiritual perspective, as well as the critical components of healing, such as through prayer and meditation. The writer will give a brief summary of each religions belief. The three religions that will be discussed in this paper are Native American, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This paper will discuss what is important to people who are cared for of a particular faith by the health care provider who may have an entirely different belief system. The writer will discuss how a patient may view a health care provider who puts aside his or her own beliefs in the interest of the beliefs and practices of the patient that is being cared for. The writer of this paper is of Christian belief and will compare her beliefs of faith and healing with the three previously mentioned religions.
The career of nursing has countless aspects that are imperative for the effectiveness and overall satisfaction of care for the average person. These aspects include physical care, mental health care, and spiritual care. The aspect of spiritual care includes the nurse assessing her clients’ spiritual health and creating a plan for complete treatment. Spirituality may be a specific object or person the client connects with, so nurses must be aware of each client’s spiritual preference. The United States has a vast diversity of people where every client the nurse encounters will value something completely different. More religious people might value a cross or a bible in their room. Some might want their family to frequently visit. Others might prefer a certain type of music playing at a certain time of the day. With violent protests, mass shootings, and threat of war looming over the Unites States’ head every day, spiritual care is going to be on a major upsurge in the health career fields.
When someone hears holistic nursing their mind may immediately jump to a form of hippie nursing with little to none scientific background or accuracy in the quality of care. This belief however is extremely inaccurate as to what holistic nursing really is. Holistic care can be defined as to when the nurse honors the patient’s wishes and takes into consideration the social, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the patient’s life (American Holistic Nurses Association, n.d.). Holistic nursing is growing in popularity amongst patients because of its open communication between nurse and patient, its unique approach to health and healing, as well as the comprehensive care it can provide.
I am grateful to be at an institution of higher learning that understands and respects faith. My philosophy of nursing cannot be explained without God and Jesus. They are a part of each one of us. The reason that someone goes into a healthcare professional is usually to favorably treat a patient’s health. Spirituality of mind and body cannot be separated completely in my nursing philosophy. In this vein, nursing cannot be wholly separated from faith.
Religion is a significant aspect of culture that must be understood and respected. Through understanding the differences in peoples cultures, a nurse who is tending to a patient who’s beliefs differ from his or her own can appropriately adjust care to respect the patient’s beliefs and
...locking out the idea. Spirituality also assists in fostering a healthy patient. Many individuals believe in a higher power and therefore we as nurses should encourage that connection when we see it being made. Spiritual connections are a way to give the patient an outlet. They are able to express themselves and rely on something other than physical care and diagnoses. They are about to look to this higher being for encouragement, peace, and healing.
Although a values set which includes love, honesty, goodness, kindness, self-control, and peace seem non-controversial, identifying those values with Christianity makes them controversial. It is important professionally to be sensitive to others, colleagues or patients, while not compromising one’s own values and creating distress. Recognizing that I personally and professionally provide an example of standards valuable to the nursing profession is important on this journey to advanced practice nursing. I do enjoy the time that I spend with those who believe and behave similar to me, but I also enjoy providing compassion and kindness to those who believe and behave differently, whether those differences are based on culture, religion, age, or life
According to Mary Fran Tracy, holistic care means providing care that encompasses a person as a human being, mind, body and spirit. Holism involves a deep understanding of each individual patient, appreciating that the disease does not define the patient, but that the person is embedded in a transient unfolding life.2 I will apply this to my practice by integrating the Shuler Nurse Practitioner practice model which is based on a “holistic understanding of human health and illness in older adults that integrates medical and nursing perspectives.”3 I will apply this to my practice by attempting to understand why my patient is not taking their blood pressure medication instead of immediately labeling them as non-compliant. Some religions believe that disease is a punishment from God and only he can give or take away the illness. I will integrate the whole person, mind, body and spirit in order to better my practice and increase patient...
Although a growing body of literature supports the benefits of a holistic approach to health and the inclusion of spirituality in patient care. The elimination of health disparities among this nations racial and ethnic groups is an exigent goal that the health care community cannot accomplish in isolation. Since many of the determinants of wellbeing span the boundaries of health care and medicine eliminating health disparities call for new and non-traditional partnerships across diverse sectors of the community (Goode and Harrison, 2000). One may ask what faith-based health care is. A faith- based health care is any group/organizations created by or for a religious or spiritual group including, but not limited to, individual places of groups