Reconciling Spirit and Science

There was a time when physical health and spiritual health weren't considered separately, and nuns and monks, deacons and deaconesses, ministered to both. Somewhere along the way, science split off and the medical profession saw its role purely in physical terms.

Hardly a month goes by now without an article about a new study on the power of prayer in healing or the benefits of mind, body, spirit integration for wellness. Some might call it new-age hooey, but others are calling it a return to an ancient truth.

" We're going back to something that was going on a long time ago," says Cleo Bell, one of last August's first four graduates of Duke's Parish Nurse Certificate Program, who now uses her skills at her church in the Walltown community of Durham.

" I had retired from a thirty-one-year nursing career at the VA Hospital," says Bell. "I hadn't planned to work at all, but then I heard about this program, and I felt I was being called. The people needed me and God was sending me into service. Now I give workshops on health issues, like arthritis and blood pressure and diabetes, both in my church and in my community."

The sense of being called is not unusual for students in the Health and Nursing Ministries program, a joint School of Nursing-Divinity School venture begun in the fall of 2000, which allows students to earn a certificate in parish nursing or one of several master's degrees combining nursing and ministry.

" I felt divinely guided to this program," says Karanne Campbell, who is pursuing dual master's degrees--one in church ministries and one in science in nursing. "I was living in Asheville and working as a home-health nurse in hospice situations with people facing the end of their lives. That is a time when people evaluate and ask the hard questions, like, 'What has my life meant?' or 'Why did I get this disease?'

" It was a time when healing still needed to take place, even when there was no hope of curing. I had recognized the strong connection of mind, body, and spirit, and I knew I needed to be grounded in my own faith. My faith had to be intact for me to give the kind of care that I saw was needed. I felt called to give spiritual care, but I didn't have the skills or the theological education. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could and nothing I shouldn't. Through my pastoral-care training, I'm gaining confidence."

The Health and Ministries program is part of a growing trend. In fact, parish ministry is the fastest-growing subset in nursing education today. Because being compassionately present to the sick and the suffering through the ministries of caring and healing has been a central part of Jewish, Christian, and other religious traditions, nurses in the program are well grounded in theology. Christian students can study Christian tradition through the divinity-school curriculum at Duke, or Jewish students can pursue academic programs in the religion department. Duke's program is more in depth than many programs that provide only certificate-level study.

" I left my practice as a nurse practitioner in cardiology," says Alyson Breisch, administrative director for the Health and Nursing Ministries program and a student in the post-master's certificate in health and nursing ministries. "But now I'm doing my clinical work as a volunteer at my church, so you might say I'm still working at the heart of the matter. I saw the 'real issues' families face while I was working in critical-care settings, and I wanted to be able to pay attention to the spiritual component in care-giving. The theological base has helped me be more holistic."

Jennifer Johnson is a part-time student in the program. She spends the other part of her time as a nurse manager in the adult general medicine unit at Duke Medical Center. She says she finds that her blossoming pastoral skills are as useful in caring for the caregivers as for patients. "As I develop my active listening skills, I find that I am being consulted by staff who might be having personal issues or issues with difficult patients."

Johnson has found that changing from the nursing mindset to the theological one can be challenging. "I come from nursing, where it's about data and actions and outcomes," she says. "There are less solid outcomes in theology; I've had to learn to think differently. But isn't it wonderful that I can incorporate all my skills and my beliefs together into one profession?"