Parish Nursing - 2011 Edition: Stories of Service and Care

The engaging stories in Parish Nursing provide accessible and enjoyable accounts of real parish nurses, both paid and volunteer, who attend to the needs of their congregations in a variety of ways—from home, hospice, and hospital visits to community outreach. This revised edition gathers their stories of hearing and heeding God’s call, of their faith that they are doing the “right thing,” of their joys, sorrows, and challenges, and of their quiet dedication as they offer their time and talents to meet the needs of others.

By offering inspiration and encouragement, along with a healthy dose of updated practical advice, this collection will make parish nursing theory come to life. These stories will honor practicing parish nurses, will guide the way for anyone contemplating parish nursing as a career, and will challenge church members and leaders to examine the role that their congregations play in health ministry—especially in meeting the long-term care needs of an aging population.

Verna Benner Carson, PhD, is the president of C&V Senior Care Specialists, Inc, a consulting firm that provides clinical training combined with operational and marketing support for two programs she developed: “Becoming an Alzheimer’s Whisperer” and “Road to Wholeness Behavioral Health.” She is also a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric mental health nursing, an associate professor at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, where she teaches undergraduates the importance of loving the patients that God puts in our care, and the author of eight other books, including Spiritual Caregiving.

Harold G. Koenig, MD, is board certified in general psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and geriatric medicine. He is on the faculty at Duke as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate professor of medicine. Dr. Koenig is Director of Duke’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health and has published extensively in the fields of mental health, geriatrics, and religion, with over 350 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and close to 40 books in print or in preparation. He is also a registered nurse.