Any nurses who are Catholic and have started Parish Nursing??

Hello zumalong. Welcome to the Parish Nursing Forum.

I am so glad to hear of your interest in starting a Parish Nurse program in your church. I am a Parish Nurse, however I am not in a Catholic Church. Let me ask you a few questions so I can better assess your situation and assist you.

Are you an RN with a current active license in the state in which you want to start the Parish Nurse program?

Are the other nurses that you have networked with Parish Nurses, and are they associated with a healthcare facility such as a hospital? Or are they doing this independently of any medical facility?

Do you currently carry individual medical malpractice insurance?

Did you receive training or are you considering being trained through the Parish Nurse program at Roberts? Is that program associated with a medical facility?

Perhaps the director of that program could meet with the governing board of your church to explain the scope of practice of a Parish Nurse including liability issues, benefits to the parishoners, etc. Perhaps you have already done this.

As far as liabilty goes......there have never been any lawsuits involving Parish Nurses that I am aware of. A couple of years ago I attended a class at the International Parish Nurse Symposium called Legal Issues and the Parish Nurse. The absence of lawsuits was discussed. This, however, does not rule out the need for personal malpractice insurance. You can get an excellent policy for around $100 per year.

Congregations considering a parish nursing ministry must make decisions about insurance coverage for both the church and for the parish nurse. As a professional working independent of any type of medical facility (which might provide certain insurance coverage), parish nurses working with churches should obtain professional malpractice insurance and be certain that the liability coverage for the church includes the activities contained within the parish nurse scope of practice. Non-coverage of liability and/or personal malpractice insurance coverage could create a serious liability gap for the protection of the Parish Nurse.

Parish Nurse practice must be within the constraints of their state professional nurse license, meaning that the Parish Nurse can function in health education, counseling, hospital visitation, etc. but cannot perform invasive treatments—injections, medication administration, dressing changes, etc. Parish nurses are not to be involved with anything that needs a medical order to be implemented.

If the parish nurse is working with health ministry volunteers, clear policies and procedures as to what these persons can do and how they are being supervised and supported should be written for the protection of all involved. The church needs to consider these persons and their activies and discuss with their insurance agent how they are or are not covered by the church's insurance policy—i.e. transportation, accidents, falls, etc.—and policies and procedures should be written accordingly.

I applaud your efforts and your desire to start a Parish Nurse ministry in your church. Hopefully, the benefits of this ministry will be realized by the church staff and congregation. Good luck in your endeavors!

Let me know if you have further questions.

Well, I work for a Catholic hospital and they have quarterly parish nurse training programs. I am a practicing Catholic and I know several RNs from my hospital who work as a parish nurse in our parish. I am not a parish nurse so I don't really know more specifics about your questions. I would say that the Catholic church in my area seems very supportive of the parish nurse program.

What about becoming an instructor for NFP? That would be a great way to utilize your nursing background and promote the Church's teaching. What about Rachel's Vineyard, a post-abortion healing program? Just throwing out some ideas here. As for frail/homebound people, find out about them from extraordinary ministers of Communion or from the St. Vincent de Paul society in your parish.

The Holy Spirit will guide you into something that is using your nursing knowledge and serving God. Don't give up.

I am a Catholic Parish nurse and have been involved in several networks that support Parish Nurses. You can try contacting Catholic Charities in your diocese. the support groups in the Mid-Atlantic are mostly connected with Healthcare systems - Adventist, Innova, Holy Cross in Silver Spring, MD and St. Agens in Baltimore. The International Parish Nurse Resource Center is another good support and info source. You don't need a Catholic support group but you do need support from your priest. There are several good books, including The Essential Parish Nurse" by Deborah Patterson. that is availble from the PN Resource Ctr.

Zumalong,
I have had interest in doing Parish nursing but I am a new grad and just try to learn as much as I can now.... maybe later down the road.
I hope that everything works out well for you. God will lead you down the right path!