A Survey: How Graduate Nurses in Maternal
Child Health Perceive Their Role in the
Spiritual Dimension of Nursing Care
Barbara Nelson

The purpose of the study was to explore the possibilities of ministry within the context of nursing and to develop a learning module for nurses to facilitate their addressing the spiritual dimension of nursing.

The goals of the study were:

1. To demonstrate to nurses and clergy that nursing provides many opportunities for ministry.

2. To explore ways in which nurses and clergy can work together to prepare nurses for ministry (their pastoral role) by a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) type module.

3. To stimulate the clergy to take initiative in developing educational programs for nurses who wish to develop their pastoral skills.

The methodology was that of a descriptive study. In the Introduction a comparison of definitions of nursing and ministry revealed that both professionals seek to minister to the basic human needs of people in the crises along the stream of life. Nurses and pastors called to Christ experience Vocation as defined clearly by Bonhoeffer (1955, p. 225):

Based on Bartlett's (1978) book, The Authentic Pastor, we examined in Chapter I four characteristics of an authentic pastor to demonstrate that nurses called to minister in Christ's name have similar characteristics. In Chapter II we examined the Clinical Pastoral Education process method of preparing seminary students for ministry to determine the potential for designing a similar program for nurses. We examined the overall goal of CPE-to help students develop personal and professional identity as pastoral people. In Chapter III we gave examples of how nurses are struggling with ways to meet the opportunities for ministry within the context of nursing.

The description of the experimental CPE for Nurses program conducted at Boston City Hospital was the focus of Chapter IV, in which the author illustrated: 1) nurses are capable of fulfilling the requirements of a strenuous CPE program in a one-day-a-week schedule; 2) nurses do benefit personally and professionally from a program designed especially for them; and 3) not only patients benefit from more attention paid to spiritual concerns, but also nursing colleagues become more aware of their responsibility to minister to the whole person.

In conclusion, nurses need and want an integrated program of education to prepare them personally and professionally to fulfill their calling. Recommendations were given in Chapter V to indicate how clergy might participate in the task of preparing nurses for ministry, by providing flexible CPE programs, CFE-like programs, educational workshops, retreats, parish support groups, and courses offered through universities and seminaries to promote a holistic approach to health.