Faith Community Nursing

Scope and Standards of Practice

Faith community nursing is a nursing practice specialty that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit, the promotion of an integrative model of health, and the prevention and minimization of illness within the context of a faith community. Such practitioners consider the spiritual, physical, psychological, and social aspects of an individual to create a sense of harmony with self, others, the environment, and a higher power. Consequently, healing is the process of integrating the individual’s body, mind, and spirit to create wholeness, health, and a sense of well-being for that person. This publication addresses the essential aspects of such practice. It completely updates the 2012 edition, reflecting the complex requirements and changes that underlay faith community nursing, health care, and the nursing profession as well as their enduring components and qualities. Continuing and building on more than a decade of collaboration, Health Ministries Association, Inc. and American Nurses Association have again published an authoritative, concise, and practical resource. To do so, the two groups convened a team of twenty-one practicing faith community nurses to develop the text with input from other nurses in three rounds of review. The result: the most current and comprehensive delineation of the competent level of nursing practice and professional performance that is common to and expected from all faith community nurses. The publication’s single scope of practice builds on what is expected of all registered nurses, specifying the who, what, where, when, why, and how of faith community nursing practice. Each standard is measurable by a set of specific competencies that serve as evidence of minimal compliance with that standard. The standards themselves—six standards of practice and ten standards of professional performance—are those by which all RNs in faith community nursing are held accountable for their practice. The book’s discussion of the scope of faith community nursing practice lends a comprehensive context for understanding and using the standards, addressing its practice priorities and characteristics, practice environments and settings, education and training requirements, key issues and trends, and ethical and conceptual bases. While primarily for faith community nurses and the nursing profession, it is also aimed at other healthcare providers; spiritual leaders, families, and members of faith communities; and employers, insurers, policymakers, and regulators.