Overview

Nursing is a vocation: a calling from God to care for others. The role of the nurse originally grew out of a holistic Christian understanding of humans as created in the image of God. Yet as nursing and healthcare continue to change, the effects have proven disorienting to many. Now more than ever, we need nurses who are committed both to a solid understanding of their profession and to caring well for patients and their families. For over twenty years, Called to Care has served as a unique and essential resource for nurses. In this third edition Judith Allen Shelly and Arlene B. Miller, now joined by coauthor Kimberly H. Fenstermacher, present a definition for nursing based on a historically and theologically grounded vision of the nurse's call: Nursing is a ministry of compassionate and restorative care for the whole person, in response to God's grace, which aims to promote and foster optimum health (shalom) and bring comfort in suffering and death for anyone in need. Focusing on the features of the nursing metaparadigm-person, health, environment, and nursing-they provide a framework for understanding how the Christian faith relates to the many aspects of a nurse's work, from theory to everyday practice. This new edition of Called to Care is thoroughly revised for today's nurses, including updated examples and new content on topics such as cultural competency, palliative care, and the current state of healthcare and nursing education. Each chapter features learning objectives, discussion questions, case studies, and theological reflections from Scripture to help readers engage and apply the content. For educators, students, and practitioners throughout the field of nursing, this classic text continues to provide clarity and wisdom for living out their calling.

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9781514000922

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Nursing is a science and an art. Our art of caring is built on a foundation of biblical truths. Human beings, created in the image of God, are his most prized creation, and nurses have the honor of providing holistic care to the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of each distinctive person. In the third edition of Called to Care, Shelly, Miller, and Fenstermacher present the practice of nursing as the holistic care of the unique individual created in the image of God as the person seeks peace and hope. It is must-read for all Christian nurses! --Shanna W. Akers, dean of the School of Nursing at Liberty University and AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Fellow While the core Christian message has not changed since the first edition, the world within and beyond health care certainly has--and with it, the concrete implications of a Christian worldview. Even those familiar with the original edition will want to read the latest work of these champions of caring with heart and mind. --John F. Kilner, professor emeritus of bioethics and contemporary culture, Trinity International University

"""This is the book for which Christian schools of nursing have been waiting. This third edition of Called to Care has been thoroughly updated to address changes in nursing and provides a sound theology of Christian worldview. The updated format-including examples, questions, objectives, and case studies-provides structure for ease in classroom applications. Because the writing is clear and the content is accessible, this book also has general interest to Christian nurses beyond a classroom setting. I found it a pleasure to read. I plan to give it to my faculty members and to use it in our senior nursing synthesis courses for both our prelicensure and RN students."" Amy Rex Smith, professor and dean of the School of Nursing, Belhaven University ""The authors of the third edition of Called to Care clearly describe the theological foundation of nursing from a Christian worldview. As in previous editions, the text fills a critical need for nurses seeking to develop and explain their nursing philosophy and integrate their Christian faith in nursing practice. The biblical foundation of nursing is threaded throughout the text, assisting readers in reflecting on God as the source of their worldview and calling to nursing, supporting their motivation to be nurses. The authors encourage nurses to carefully consider biblical and theological truth when evaluating nursing theories they incorporate into their practice. Implications for caring for the whole person regardless of culture are emphasized in the text. The authors define culture, describe the person as a cultural being, and support the Christian nurse's role in providing Christ-centered care for diverse populations from a biblical perspective, emphasizing that people from all cultures should be respected and treated with kindness. The case studies and discussion questions following each chapter are good teaching tools, making this an excellent textbook for schools of nursing to include as a resource for their curriculum."" Shirlene Newbanks, associate faculty, School of Nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University"

In the increasingly complex and challenging world of health care a nurse's faith can be a necessary point of reference, to avoid being just swept along in the tide of change. This book can assist quicker development of a sufficiently mature and thought-through Christian faith to enable a nurse to cope explicitly with the challenges of life, suffering, death and an unending succession of new ethical issues; and to support others in doing so. The original biblically well-referenced discussion of nursing and concepts relevant to it, illustrated by nursing stories, gives a coherent Christian perspective on nursing. The discussion questions and points for further thinking and reflection added in the second edition highlight its relevance and application in practice. Many could usefully be raised in a group of nurses or students with a variety of faiths or none. The purpose, objectives and key words for each chapter also help to focus thought and learning.This book is a welcome resource. --Pat Ashworth, former senior lecturer in nursing, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland To my mind, the first edition of Called to Care has become a classic for Christian nurses. Now with its second edition, this volume becomes even more suitable for educational purposes. Its own objectives and sources, and the nursing theories and worldviews that the authors interact with, have been made more explicit. Thus, nurses and nursing students alike will get a better grasp of both underpinnings and consequences of the discussions Miller and Shelly so clearly present. At the same time, the book offers a valid challenge to those who propose to interpret notions like 'good nursing care' from the perspective of different worldviews. Shelly and Miller show a broad and deep knowledge of the literature, and make a well-argued case for the strengths and weaknesses in many trends in nursing theory and practice. For those who want to interact with what the Christian tradition of nursing looks like today, Called to Care is as good a starting point as any. --Bart Cusveller, Associate Professor of Nursing and Nursing Ethics, Christian University for Higher Professional Education, Ede, The Netherlands Courageous nurses will find this new edition an essential companion that lights the way in practice and academic settings influenced by modern and postmodern worldviews. --Diane Elliott-Lee, R.N., M.S.N., coauthor of Courage: The Backbone of Leadership What a gift Judy Shelly and Arlene Miller have given us by producing a second edition of Called to Care. While the core Christian message has not changed since the first edition, the world within and beyond health care certainly has--and with it, the concrete implications of a Christian worldview. Even those familiar with the original edition will want to read the latest work of these two champions of caring with heart and mind. --John F. Kilner, Ph.D., Professor of Bioethics and Contemporary Culture, and Director of Bioethics Programs, Trinity International University

Author Information

Kimberly H. Fenstermacher (PhD, CRNP) is chief nursing administrator, assistant dean of nursing, and associate professor of nursing at Messiah University. Judith Allen Shelly (BSN, DMin) previously served as publications director for Nurses Christian Fellowship, director of NCF Press, and editor of the Journal of Christian Nursing. She is also the author of Spiritual Care: A Guide for Caregivers and the coauthor of Values in Conflict. Arlene B. Miller (RN, PhD) is retired from the Department of Nursing at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Her books include Values in Conflict.

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