522657
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414522657Nursing Science QuarterlyPace / Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor
A Response to the Editorial “Move Over Nurses: There’s a New Professional on the Block.”
Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(2) 183 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414522657 nsq.sagepub.com
James C. Pace, PhD; FAAN1 As a doctorally (PhD) prepared nurse educator and a hospital chaplain with Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training, I would like to respectfully respond to Dr. Rosemarie Rizzo Parse’s editorial, “Move Over Nurses: There’s a New Professional on the Block.” Dr. Parse speaks of healthcare chaplaincy as a newly emerging discipline that is now asking questions that concern the care of the whole person, questions traditionally asked by nurses. Queries about the importance of significant life relationships, meaning and purpose in life, and matters of faith do indeed influence the care of the whole person in today’s often depersonalized and chaotic healthcare environments. With the emergence of the chaplain as the newest healthcare professional, Dr. Parse urges nurses to answer the call to preserve the uniqueness of nursing as a discipline and to once again capture opportunities to focus on the whole person. Upon reflection, chaplains, like nurses, have been around since the dawn of time in some manner, shape, name, and form. Chaplains and nurses have stood side by side (often being the same person) over the centuries: shamans, midwives, and bedside care attendants who have been honored and privileged to journey with those who were ill or managing challenging life transitions (Holmes, 1978). As the professions have developed and technologies improved, so have the various professions and specialties evolved, each with their own desired qualifications, roles, and responsibilities. Just as nursing has evolved in terms of its working toward being an evidence-based practice discipline, chaplains (whether ordained, commissioned, or somehow set aside by a religious or tradition-based community) have evolved in terms of extended educational pathways in pastoral care services. The complexities of care in today’s disjointed care delivery system demand board-certified chaplains who have
extensive CPE training as well as interfaith professional education for ministry (COMISS, 2013). Such in-depth supervision for rabbis, imams, priests, and others, prepares them well to be with persons in need of crisis intervention, as well as routine spiritual nurturing for growth and support. Nursing’s call to meet core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPEC) invites us to collaborate with a variety of healthcare professionals to deliver comprehensive, integrative, safe, seamless, and quality care across multiple settings (IPEC, 2011). Chaplains pose no threat to nursing as a unique science-based discipline whose aim continues to be directed at caring for the whole person. Rather, the chaplain, with many of the same goals and hopes, stands beside their nursing colleagues. Together we strive to affirm the significance, meaning, and beauty of life in the midst of illness, disease, suffering, and death. Rather than “moving over,” let us embrace and welcome the rewards of team-based care. Thank you, Dr. Parse, for your excellent editorial and bringing this to our attention! References COMISS. Commission for Accreditation of Pastoral Services: www.comissnetwork.org. (Last accessed 10/22/13). Holmes, T. (1978). The priest in community. New York: Seabury Press. Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washington, D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative. Parse, R. R. (2013.) “Move over nurses: There’s a new professional on the block.” Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(4) 301. 1
Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program, New York University College of Nursing
research-article2014
NSQXXX10.1177/0894318414522657Nursing Science QuarterlyPace / Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor
A Response to the Editorial “Move Over Nurses: There’s a New Professional on the Block.”
Nursing Science Quarterly 2014, Vol. 27(2) 183 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0894318414522657 nsq.sagepub.com
James C. Pace, PhD; FAAN1 As a doctorally (PhD) prepared nurse educator and a hospital chaplain with Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) training, I would like to respectfully respond to Dr. Rosemarie Rizzo Parse’s editorial, “Move Over Nurses: There’s a New Professional on the Block.” Dr. Parse speaks of healthcare chaplaincy as a newly emerging discipline that is now asking questions that concern the care of the whole person, questions traditionally asked by nurses. Queries about the importance of significant life relationships, meaning and purpose in life, and matters of faith do indeed influence the care of the whole person in today’s often depersonalized and chaotic healthcare environments. With the emergence of the chaplain as the newest healthcare professional, Dr. Parse urges nurses to answer the call to preserve the uniqueness of nursing as a discipline and to once again capture opportunities to focus on the whole person. Upon reflection, chaplains, like nurses, have been around since the dawn of time in some manner, shape, name, and form. Chaplains and nurses have stood side by side (often being the same person) over the centuries: shamans, midwives, and bedside care attendants who have been honored and privileged to journey with those who were ill or managing challenging life transitions (Holmes, 1978). As the professions have developed and technologies improved, so have the various professions and specialties evolved, each with their own desired qualifications, roles, and responsibilities. Just as nursing has evolved in terms of its working toward being an evidence-based practice discipline, chaplains (whether ordained, commissioned, or somehow set aside by a religious or tradition-based community) have evolved in terms of extended educational pathways in pastoral care services. The complexities of care in today’s disjointed care delivery system demand board-certified chaplains who have
extensive CPE training as well as interfaith professional education for ministry (COMISS, 2013). Such in-depth supervision for rabbis, imams, priests, and others, prepares them well to be with persons in need of crisis intervention, as well as routine spiritual nurturing for growth and support. Nursing’s call to meet core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPEC) invites us to collaborate with a variety of healthcare professionals to deliver comprehensive, integrative, safe, seamless, and quality care across multiple settings (IPEC, 2011). Chaplains pose no threat to nursing as a unique science-based discipline whose aim continues to be directed at caring for the whole person. Rather, the chaplain, with many of the same goals and hopes, stands beside their nursing colleagues. Together we strive to affirm the significance, meaning, and beauty of life in the midst of illness, disease, suffering, and death. Rather than “moving over,” let us embrace and welcome the rewards of team-based care. Thank you, Dr. Parse, for your excellent editorial and bringing this to our attention! References COMISS. Commission for Accreditation of Pastoral Services: www.comissnetwork.org. (Last accessed 10/22/13). Holmes, T. (1978). The priest in community. New York: Seabury Press. Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Washington, D.C.: Interprofessional Education Collaborative. Parse, R. R. (2013.) “Move over nurses: There’s a new professional on the block.” Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(4) 301. 1
Associate Dean of the Undergraduate Program, New York University College of Nursing
