From the Duke News Service

October 15, 1999

The Duke Divinity School and the Duke School of Nursing have joined together to create a new parish nursing program.

The new Health and Nursing Ministries Program will combine master's-level work in theology and advanced nursing practices. The program is designed to train nurse leaders in the delivery of health care within their faith communities.

On Oct. 7, a kickoff celebration dinner was held on campus to showcase the program for Triangle-area nurse leaders. Some 50 people attended.

Divinity School Dean L. Gregory Jones said of the program, "The Divinity School takes seriously both the training of people as health care providers and as theologically educated, faithful members of the Christian community.

"Although there are inherent distinctions between the discipline of theology and nursing, we intend to emphasize their common commitments. We are extremely grateful to The Duke Endowment for its support of this initiative."

The Charlotte-based Duke Endowment, one of the nation's largest foundations, has funded the program with an initial grant of $130,000.

Said School of Nursing Dean Mary Champagne, "Nurses always have the desire to reach people. I believe we have created an innovative way to bring care to the community. Of course, nurses expect to learn from congregations, too."

Serving as the program's director is Dr. Keith Meador, professor of the practice of pastoral theology and medicine who holds degrees in theology, medicine and public health, and is on the faculty of Duke's medical and divinity schools.

"Recent scholarly literature in both medicine and theology affirms the existence of an ancient, concrete and constructive relationship between religious faith and the care of the sick," he said.

"Nursing has historically been the one health care discipline that has focused consistently upon being present with the chronically ill and suffering, and we believe that it possesses, by its very nature, the moral resources to resist the technical, consumerist and impersonal pitfalls of some of the excesses of contemporary medicine."

Serving as associate director is Ruth Ouimette, assistant clinical professor in the School of Nursing. Speaking before nurse leaders on Oct. 7, she said, "The opportunity to teach nursing students and divinity students together is going to make a big difference."

Parish nursing has had a long tradition within church ministry and nursing. From the second century on in Europe, the Catholic Church saw organized public care of the sick as an integral part of bearing witness to the Christian gospel. In the Middle Ages, several monastic traditions took up the care of the sick as a hands-on way to do God's work. At the beginning of the 20th century in America, many public-health nursing societies held church affiliations.

The Health and Nursing Ministries Program will accept its first class in fall 2000. Some 10 to 12 students are expected to enroll. Students must have a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Three master's-level tracks will be offered:

• Master in Church Ministries (MCM) — A two-year, full-time degree program offered by the Divinity School that prepares nurses for work as health care ministers in local congregations and other health care settings. Graduates are trained to work in a variety of parish-based health care settings.
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) — A two-year, full-time program offered by the School of Nursing that provides nurses with advanced preparation as clinicians and as administrators of health-and-nursing ministries. Graduates are prepared to provide nursing care in community-based settings, including faith communities. They also are prepared to develop and coordinate parish nursing programs.
• Joint Masters in Church Ministries and Science in Nursing (MCM & MSN) — A three-year, full-time program offered jointly by the Schools of Divinity and Nursing. The program is designed for students who want a thorough preparation in both advanced nursing practices and theological education. Graduates are prepared to develop, initiate and coordinate comprehensive parish and community nursing programs, as well as serve as members of church staffs or work in urban ministry centers.

Courses to be offered in the Divinity School include church history, Biblical studies, Christian theology and ethics, health care ethics and pastoral care. Nursing courses will include health promotion and disease prevention, population-based approaches to health care, diagnostic reasoning and physical assessment in advanced nursing practice and health-services program planning and outcome analysis.

Also offered through the program will be three interdisciplinary courses. One course will trace the parish-nursing movement from the 1960s on. Another course will examine chronic illness, as well as suffering and dying, from theological, medical and psychosocial perspectives. A final seminar course will give students a chance to develop a philosophy of health care, grounded in the practice and theology of their respective religious communities.

Besides classroom work, students will have the chance to participate in clinical practicums and field experiences. One field site will be Durham's Walltown neighborhood near Duke's East Campus. The Divinity School's Walltown Families and Children Initiative, a three-year partnership with five area churches that form Walltown Neighborhood Ministries, will include health care services through the new Health and Nursing Ministries Program. The Walltown initiative is also funded by The Duke Endowment.

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