Collaborative Partnership for Parish Nursing

The DWU mission statement reads "DWU encourages the dialogue between mind & soul, simultaneously building relationships, developing whole persons, and promoting service to God & humanity." The nursing faculty chose Jean Watson's concepts of caring as being central to the curriculum and supportive of the mission, commitments and objectives of Dakota Wesleyan University.

Through a unique collaborative partnership between a church, a Liberal Arts University, and an Associate Degree Nursing program, a vision for promoting health and healing has created new opportunities to make caring a reality in nursing today. The goal of integrating parish nursing learning opportunities into the nursing program is one of building collaborative relationships to prepare our nursing students for a lifetime of learning, leadership, faith and service.

Introduction to parish nursing at Dakota Wesleyan University:

In 1997, the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) had the vision, inspiration and funding to develop new ministries focused on health and healing of body, mind and spirit. In collaboration with the Arlene Gates Department of Nursing at Dakota Wesleyan University, partnership members developed a plan to introduce nursing students and members of UMC congregations to concepts of parish nursing/health ministries.

• DWU nursing faculty members Diane Sandhoff and Gloria Thompson completed the first PN Prep Course offered at Augustana College in July 1997
• Sandhoff and Thompson took a proposal for implementing a one year pilot parish nurse program at Wesley Acres Retirement Residence to their board of directors in December 1997. Rationale: This parish nurse program would affirm the mission of Dakota Wesleyan University and focus the commitment of the DWU Nursing Department to promoting health and healing in the community. Wesley Acres was selected because of the facilities' affiliation with the Dakotas Conference of the UMC.
• The pilot parish nurse program at Wesley Acres was implemented on February 1, 1998. Diane and Gloria are available as parish nurses two hours weekly at no charge to Wesley Acres. Parish nursing services are designed to build on & strengthen the capacities of individuals & the faith community to understand & care for one another in the light of their relationship to God, faith traditions, themselves & the broader society.
• Negotiation for continuing the parish nurse program included integrating learning opportunities in parish nursing for nursing students, in addition to the weekly blood pressure screening.
• Second year nursing students began developing a health teaching session and presenting it at Wesley Acres during the spring 1999 semester. Residents choose presentation topics for students each semester. Groups of two or three students research the topic, prepare handouts and audiovisuals, and present it to their individual clinical groups. Their peers evaluate the presentations and handouts, offering suggestions for improvements. After refining the topics, the students present their program to the residents.

Nursing Student / Resident Interaction at Wesley Acres

The DWU Parish Nursing Committee is responsible for coordinating all parish nursing/health ministries partnership activities. : Dr. Boyd Blumer (Coordinator of Church Relations), Diane Sandhoff (Assistant Professor of Nursing) and Gloria Thompson (Administrative Chair, Arlene Gates Department of Nursing) serve as committee members.

Dakotas Conference of the UMC / DWU Nursing partnership activities (1997-2000):

• Fifteen $500.00 parish nurse preparation course scholarships awarded for RN's committed to establishing a parish nursing program in a UMC congregation in ND or SD.
• Sponsor an annual on-campus "Spiritual Care Conference" to focus on issues related to caring for body, mind and spirit.
• Publish "Sharing Our Selves with Others" (SOSO) Newsletter sent to Dakotas Conference congregations and individuals interested in parish nursing/health ministries information/resources.
• Established a "Parish Nursing/Rural Health Ministries" collection of resources in the McGovern Library. Abstracts of books and videos can be accessed on-line through the DWU web page and are available free of charge to anyone through Interlibrary loan (ILL).

Contact Information

For church relations and SOSO newsletter information:
Dr. Boyd A. Blumer
Dakota Wesleyan University
1200 W. University Ave.
Mitchell, SD 57301
Phone: 605-995-1961
E-mail: boblumer@dwu.edu

For parish nursing/health ministries resource information available in McGovern Library:
Jodie Barker, DWU Public Services Librarian
Dakota Wesleyan University
1200 W. University Ave.
Mitchell, SD 57301
Phone: 605-995-2619
Internet: www.dwu.edu/library