Graduate Certificates: Certificates in Parish Nursing

6 and 21 credits
In the fall of 1998, the Ecumenical Institute of Theology became the first theological school in North America to offer graduate-level courses in the area of parish nursing.

Parish nursing, now also known as faith community nursing, is "the specialized practice of professional nursing that focuses on the intentional care of the spirit as part of the process of promoting holistic health and preventing or minimizing illness in a faith community" (American Nurses Association, The Scope and Standards of Faith Community Nursing). It can be practiced either in a congregation or parish or in a traditional health-care setting. Parish nurses deal with a spectrum of health concerns, including healthy lifestyle choices, blood pressure, substance abuse, violence, risk-taking behaviors, and terminal illness.

Admission to these certificates is open only to R.N.s. who possess a regionally accredited bachelor's degree. (A limited number of R.N.s without the bachelor's degree are admitted to the basic certificate program as auditors; auditors may not pursue the advanced certificate.)

BASIC PARISH NURSING CERTIFICATE

Required courses include:

PT651 Parish Nursing I
PT652 Parish Nursing II

ADVANCED PARISH NURSING CERTIFICATE

Required courses include:

TH601 Introduction to Theological Study, Research & Writing
PT651 Parish Nursing I
PT652 Parish Nursing II
PT781 Advanced Parish Nursing
MT721 Medical Ethics

One of the following two courses:

PT/SP602 Pastoral and Spiritual Care
PT622 Introduction to Pastoral Counseling

One of the following two courses:

PT742 Ministry to the Ill and Dying
PT/SP780 Health, Disease, and Spirituality