I appreciate the comments, thank you! Certification certainly is not required or necessary for everyone who practices parish nursing, but is there for those whose professional goals fit with what it provides.
For purposes of clarification, the 1000 hours in the past 3 years requirement pertains only to the Eligibility Criteria to apply for initial certification for Faith Community Nursing. ANCC has not stated yet what the requirements of renewal will be. On their website they say, "This credential is valid for 5 years. You can continue to use this credential by maintaining your license to practice and meeting the renewal requirements in place at the time of your certification renewal."
Information on ANCC's website about this certification: http://www.nursecredentialing.org/FaithCommunityNursing
Keep the comments coming! I see many "maybe" and "yes", I'd love to hear from you too!
Barbara Cheyney - 9 years ago
I voted no. I am "retired" but working 2 part-time jobs and already maintaining ANCC Community Health Nursing certification. I am anticipating taking a faith community nursing course and starting to provide part-time nonsalaried parish nurse services in my church. The cost in money and required practice hours for faith community nursing certification is prohibitive. The practice hours requirement of 1000 hours every three years translates into an average of one hour/day - I do not have nor do I anticipate the need for giving that amount of time. I plan to maintain my skills but do not anticipate being able to meet the requirements ($ and practice hours) for this additional certification.
Deb P. - 9 years ago
I vote no. I normally am working full time in a position that requires I keep up my 2 national certifications. I am required to submit a goodly amount of CEUs already. I already have to pay for Association dues and CEUs. CEUs must be relevant and recognized by the certification bodies. Some years back, prior to my ongoing certifications, my church, hospital and a community resource funded my training at an accredited college where I completed the coursework to become a Certified Parish Nurse which practices under the national standards for the Parish Nurse. My church is unable to pay for me to attend any CEU offerings and I am not in a position to strain my family budget further than it already is. I do believe a more formal approach with newer nurses would be acceptable. I would not be willing or able to get additional certifications in my fifth decade of life. I would not be opposed to essentially Grandfathering of nurses who have already been certified, as our profession has done effectively over the years. As Ruth said we do not need more barriers in our way to practice. Thanks for this discussion!
Thanks for commenting Ginny! My goal is to hear more perspectives than my own online here, so we can have honest discussions about faith community nursing and the future of health ministry. As a 30 something fairly new FCN, it means something different from my perspective. For those of you that came to this poll from places other than my blog, you can see my Top Ten Reasons to Get Certified as a Faith Community Nurse here: https://ctfaithcommunitynurses.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/top-10-reasons-to-get-certified-as-a-faith-community-nurse/
What do others think about the validity of the reasons to get FCN Certified for their lives?
Ginny Wagenseller, RN - 9 years ago
As a 67 year old faith community nurse looking at my life and your 10 reasons, I think reasons 1,3,5 are all valid and worthwhile.
#2 I don't feel the need to create alphabet soup
#4 I have this
#6,7,8 I do my best to keep up through reading, networking, conferences and CEUs
#9,10 I am busy and engaged with health ministry, and feel I would rather use the prep time necessary for completion of this certification for meaningful presence in this ministry
I appreciate the comments, thank you! Certification certainly is not required or necessary for everyone who practices parish nursing, but is there for those whose professional goals fit with what it provides.
For purposes of clarification, the 1000 hours in the past 3 years requirement pertains only to the Eligibility Criteria to apply for initial certification for Faith Community Nursing. ANCC has not stated yet what the requirements of renewal will be. On their website they say, "This credential is valid for 5 years. You can continue to use this credential by maintaining your license to practice and meeting the renewal requirements in place at the time of your certification renewal."
Eligibility Criteria: http://www.nursecredentialing.org/FaithCommunityNursing-Eligibility
Information on ANCC's website about this certification: http://www.nursecredentialing.org/FaithCommunityNursing
Keep the comments coming! I see many "maybe" and "yes", I'd love to hear from you too!
I voted no. I am "retired" but working 2 part-time jobs and already maintaining ANCC Community Health Nursing certification. I am anticipating taking a faith community nursing course and starting to provide part-time nonsalaried parish nurse services in my church. The cost in money and required practice hours for faith community nursing certification is prohibitive. The practice hours requirement of 1000 hours every three years translates into an average of one hour/day - I do not have nor do I anticipate the need for giving that amount of time. I plan to maintain my skills but do not anticipate being able to meet the requirements ($ and practice hours) for this additional certification.
I vote no. I normally am working full time in a position that requires I keep up my 2 national certifications. I am required to submit a goodly amount of CEUs already. I already have to pay for Association dues and CEUs. CEUs must be relevant and recognized by the certification bodies. Some years back, prior to my ongoing certifications, my church, hospital and a community resource funded my training at an accredited college where I completed the coursework to become a Certified Parish Nurse which practices under the national standards for the Parish Nurse. My church is unable to pay for me to attend any CEU offerings and I am not in a position to strain my family budget further than it already is. I do believe a more formal approach with newer nurses would be acceptable. I would not be willing or able to get additional certifications in my fifth decade of life. I would not be opposed to essentially Grandfathering of nurses who have already been certified, as our profession has done effectively over the years. As Ruth said we do not need more barriers in our way to practice. Thanks for this discussion!
Thanks for commenting Ginny! My goal is to hear more perspectives than my own online here, so we can have honest discussions about faith community nursing and the future of health ministry. As a 30 something fairly new FCN, it means something different from my perspective. For those of you that came to this poll from places other than my blog, you can see my Top Ten Reasons to Get Certified as a Faith Community Nurse here: https://ctfaithcommunitynurses.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/top-10-reasons-to-get-certified-as-a-faith-community-nurse/
What do others think about the validity of the reasons to get FCN Certified for their lives?
As a 67 year old faith community nurse looking at my life and your 10 reasons, I think reasons 1,3,5 are all valid and worthwhile.
#2 I don't feel the need to create alphabet soup
#4 I have this
#6,7,8 I do my best to keep up through reading, networking, conferences and CEUs
#9,10 I am busy and engaged with health ministry, and feel I would rather use the prep time necessary for completion of this certification for meaningful presence in this ministry