BOOK REVIEW
Faith Community Nursing: An International Specialty Practice Changing the Understanding of Health amplifies previous publications about health ministry and faith community nursing. The editors are Ann Solari-Twadell, PhD, RN, MPA, FAAN, and Deborah J. Ziebarth, PhD, MSN, RN, academic leaders in the field of faith community nursing and health ministry. Both nurses are passionate about the specialty practice of faith community nursing and are widely published in the field.
The text presents relevant and timely issues in this specialty where nurses provide intentional care of the spirit, disease prevention, and health promotion in the context of one's faith tradition. The authors offer an interprofessional team opportunity with chapters that apply to lay health ministers, clergy, physicians, hospitals, and health systems.
Divided into 25 chapters with 365 total pages, the book's five sections describe the historical development of faith community nursing, its current implications, and future challenges; it also accounts for the perspectives of the pastor, congregation, faith community nurse (FCN), healthcare system, and national and international organizations in the public health arena. Experts in the specialty have written informative, evidence-based narratives that cover the historical perspective, theoretical underpinnings, practice basics, specialty scope and standards, transitional care and working with interdisciplinary teams as well as legal and ethical aspects.
I especially enjoyed the differentiation between wholistic and holistic nursing practice, standardization of the educational preparation for FCNs, membership organizations that support FCNs' practice, and the current state of research. The chapter on long-term sustainability of the specialty practice is particularly important as FCNs strive to communicate the value of the practice and ministry amidst resource scarcity in both healthcare and faith-based organizations.
The book is well organized. Each chapter contains a crisp and informative abstract, easily readable text, thoughtful exercises for critical thinking, and useful tools in the appendices. The resource is available in print and ebook format in both the United States and European marketplaces. This is a practical resource for those in faith community nursing practice and an excellent textbook for faith community nursing and public health nursing education programs. -Mary Lynne Knighten, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, is lead FCN Foundations Educator, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA.
Solari-Twadell, A. & Ziebarth, D J. (2019). Faith community nursing: An international specialty practice changing the understanding of health. Chan, Switzerland: Springer.
ETHNOMED: CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Social and cultural facts and nuances that are relevant to clinical care are conveniently provided on this website, courtesy of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and the University of Washington. A sizable list of topics including health conditions, nutrition, pain, domestic violence, and tests & procedures are covered.
Visitors can gain understanding about cultural details relevant for diagnosis and treatment such as dietary practices, religious life, healing practices, traditional beliefs, cultural norms, and social routines. Among the cultures and ethnicities covered on the site are Cambodian, Chin, Chinese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Latino, Hmong, Iraqi, Karen, Bhutanese, Somali, and Vietnamese. As the site notes, healthcare providers can easily make subtle cultural assumptions while taking a patient's history or designing a care plan.
Information on refugees and immigration status, including terms and concepts as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is useful and succinct. Links to resources are included, such as to refugee health clinical topics.
Also check out the page, "Practicing Cultural Humility When Serving Immigrant and Refugee Communities," authored by Lea Ann Miyagawa, MN, RN; this is listed under the Resources tab.
Ethnomed: Integrating Cultural Information into Clinical Practice: https://ethnomed.org
NEW BIBLE STUDIES FROM NCF
Six new stand-alone Bible studies and one eight-study package are available on the NCF website. Four studies focus on the four themes of National Nurses Month 2020: self-care, professional development, recognition, and community engagement. Two other online studies address caring for patients in light of COVID-19 and building bridges related to racial/ethnic diversity.
The eight-study packet, Encounters with Jesus, includes leader's guides and links to study notes.
All these studies are suited for personal or group use and can be downloaded for free.
Access all the NCF Bible studies: https://ncf-jcn.org/resources/bible-studies