Elaine Tyrrell, National Advisor to the Board

 Elaine has been involved with parish nursing since 1998 when she set up a ministry at Nelson Cathedral, so becoming the first Anglican Parish Nurse in New Zealand. 

She completed her basic FCN training in Adelaide with the Australian Faith Community Nurses Association (AFCNA) in 2000 and friendships were formed with Dr Anne van Loon (Director of Development of AFCNA) and Dr Merilyn Annells (then Chairperson of AFCNA) who subsequently supported the establishment of faith community nursing in New Zealand. Enquiries came from throughout New Zealand and from international visitors to Nelson such that there was a need to develop networking and training within the country.  Dr Anne van Loon has led several training courses within New Zealand – her first visit being to Christchurch in 2001 when NZAFCN was inaugurated and Elaine was invited on the Board.  NZFCNA in its present form was born in 2003 when Elaine became chairman. 

In 2004, the General Synod of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia recognised faith community nursing as a valid, important ministry within the church and supports its parishes in developing this outreach.  Elaine is the Parish Nurse Advisor within the Nelson Diocese.

Elaine’s husband, the Dean Emeritus, has not only supported this ministry but included it in his Masters dissertation.  In 2006, he received the QSO in the Queen’s birthday honours list in recognition of his service to the community including the development of parish nursing within New Zealand.

Elaine also works as a rehabilitation nurse in Nelson Hospital and her thesis for her Master in Health Science focussed on the perspective of older patients and their family members about the role of nursing in rehabilitation.

 
Diane Webster – National Coordinator:

Diane was first introduced to Parish Nursing or Faith Community Nursing at the end of her Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2001, when the first augural conference was held in Christchurch 2001.

It was an exciting concept to her as it entwined her faith and nursing passion together. From working with Nurse Maude as a District Nurse, the concept didn’t leave her and she could see the potential of this scope of practice out in the community especially within the Church.

The second Parish Nursing conference was held in Nelson 2003 which Diane attended and confirmed the call to offer her services to the newly formed Association. Diane continued to work in the role as Secretary/Treasurer and Board Member and then accepted the invitation to work as the National Coordinator which includes guiding the Board and visiting FCN’s throughout the country.  She has seen the Association through to its incorporated status, organised annual conferences in different venues and helped establish the NZFCNA website. Diane works voluntary in this role and holds her practising certificate within this scope of practice.  Nursing Council of New Zealand have recognised her nursing management role.

Elizabeth Niven – Chairperson
I’m a nurse working in education where I teach cross-disciplines in health. My main work is with osteopathy students, but I also teach into the nurse assistant, bachelor of nursing and medical imaging programmes. I love teaching, as it is here we see both young and mature people setting out on a career of helping others. The students are highly motivated, work hard, and intend to be the best health professionals that they can become. The contrast to the media portrayal of the next generation as selfish and uncaring could not be more marked.
My areas of special interest are social sciences, communication, end of life issues, ethics and research. I trained under the old hospital system many years ago and respect that education as much as I do today’s degree programmes, preparing today’s graduates for a different world.
I was a member of the parish of St Andrew’s Anglican parish in Epsom, Auckland, for almost 30 years, serving on various committees during this time. I’ve recently moved to worship at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, which is closer to home. I’m a member of the Board of the Selwyn Foundation, dedicated to the care and well-being of the older person in both residential care, independent living and community situations.
I’ve been involved with Faith Community Nursing for about 7 years now, and on the Board for 4 years. My role at the moment is as chairperson, and I hope to serve you all well in this position.

Ane Masima - Parish Nurse and Practice Nurse - Tongan Health Society:
My name is Ane Masima employed by the Tongan Health Society as a .7 Parish Nurse and .3 Practice Nurse. I work for a Tongan church known as the Tongan Wesleyan church named as Mo’unga ki he Loto. There are 28 families and a total of 158 parishioners.

I meet their needs by :-

• Home visit, identify and assist their needs.
• Take a mobile health clinic to the church once a week.(Mobile Van)
• Run an exercise group in the church hall once a week.
• Provide health education eg:- Quit smoking, Immunizations, Diabetes, etc.
• Demonstrate a healthy way of cooking our own Tongan food at the church camp.
• Referral to other Agencies and resources.
• Liaise with other Services.
• Partnership with the Steward’s wife in running a women prayer group.

I love to see the families of the Parishioners realise their own health needs and work hard to recover and live a better life.

Alison Wilden:

Alison caught the vision of faith community nursing after attending a NZFCNA conference in Christchurch.  She had read an article about the ministry in the Kai Tiaki nursing journal and longed to combine her passion for nursing with her Christian commitment to her local church in the Gore community.  She was familiar with accessing funding from the PHO and together with her minister’s wife and fellow nurse Carol, they saw the possibilities of opening a foot clinic within the church.  In 2007, their dream became a reality when they received a grant of $5,000.  The local podiatrists have supported and trained them.  The latest venture is a weekly “Super Clinic”.  The nail clinic has over 50 on the role and their first customer arrived well before opening as he was so thrilled with the opportunity.  Fellowship, fun, Christian love and excellent foot care make a winning combination and the community can see the practical outworking of these Christian nurses.

A few years ago there was an article in the Kai Tiaki about Faith Community Nursing. It  rang a bell with me and I talked to few people about it including my vicar. However I did    not proceed with anything as I began to homeschool my son. My son is now at university and as he is the youngest of my three children I now have a decreased level of family responsibilities.

I attended the conference in Auckland in October 07; this confirmed that this was the way that God was leading me. My nursing work over the last 12 years has been theatre nursing, so this is a very different direction to be going in. My Vicar and church leadership team have been enthusiastic, as have members of the congregation. When I presented the idea to the congregation in May 08 I asked for volunteers to go on a database and received positive replies from about 50 people, usually there are around 100 at the main Sunday service. So I have started off by being a pastoral care coordinator.

Hamilton has a quarterly elder care network meeting organised by Age Concern, I have attended regularly so I am now getting to know what is going on for older people in our area. I am concentrating on the Elderly and am looking at ways I can support them.

Having heard about the nail care clinics in Gore and Christchurch lead by FCNs I am keen to set one up in our church. One member of my congregation is a retired community nurse who ‘loves feet’, so she will be a great source of help.

I have found the documentation that the NZFCNA has been a great starting point, but have found that it all needs adapting to our particular circumstances. Things are going slowly but surely, I feel that I am putting good systems into place so that as the ministry develops I will be work well using them all. I have got a small Pastoral Ministry team behind me who are all very helpful; we meet as necessary.

There have been a few of us who are just starting as FCNs locally, this has been a great help, in that we can travel the road together. Being a member of the NZFCNA has been wonderful; as having attended two conferences I have got to know nurses who are practising in different parts of New Zealand and have taken the opportunity when travelling to meet up with them.

 I would never have thought of myself as being able to get something like this off the ground but God is using me and it is very exciting.

Thanks to all those who have already put so much into the Association, I look forward to making my contribution in the future.

Kathryn Starky

Last November I was licensed by  Bishop Victoria and given a ‘seeding grant’ from the Diocese of Christchurch to commence me on my journey into Parish or Faith Community Nursing.  It has been a year of discovery as I work through the 12 modules, developed as an Introductory Course to Faith Nursing, read from resources at the Kinder Library and reflect in a peer group that meets bimonthly in Christchurch.  I work with members of my faith community and  I am part of the pastoral team. I work with mothers and their young children, the elderly and housebound in my congregation and help with Eucharist services in the local rest home.  As part of my parish nursing I have developed a foot clinic. Seen in the photos I have enclosed is a 75 year old woman who has developed macula degenerative disease which has left her partially blind and with the prognosis of blindness.  At our foot clinics we prayer together.  Our hands joined, we hold a cross, a candle burns on the table nearby and we spend time praying together, listening and being in God’s presence.   Also pictured is our National Coordinator, Diane Webster, who spent a morning with us offering support and mentorship.

Shirley Pope

I retired in March 2009 after 50 years of nursing, which incorporated many aspects of the nursing profession.  In November 2009 I had a calling from God, telling me that he wanted me to do a ministry for him, as I was reading about overseas mission I presumed that was where I was to go.  That was not to be, due to some health issues, and the Dean of the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist Napier, the Very Reverend Dr. Helen Jacobi asked me to be the Parish Nurse.

 I joined the NZFCNA and with the encouragement of the Dean, started the modules in March 2010.  It was decided that I would not be commissioned until I had completed the 12 modules; something that I now realize was the only way to go.  By doing the modules first, gave me an understanding of the NZFCNA, my faith and spirituality; the philosophy and role of the parish nurse, and be able to look at the faith community and their needs with a better insight.

I believe that it was vital for me, and I would encourage any nurse setting their sights on being a parish nurse to complete the modules before starting in the role. 

I completed the modules in early September and on the 26th September I was honoured and privileged to be commissioned and licenced in the office of Parish Nurse, an anointer of oil to the sick by the Bishop of Waiapu, The Right Reverend David Rice,  also I was presented with the certificate of completion of training in faith community nursing by the Very Reverend Charles Tyrrell, Patron of the NZFCNA who had graciously come from Nelson to do this.

Marjorie Newcombe Faith Community Nurse in Greymouth

This year I turned 70 and since 1954 I knew I wanted to be a nurse. In 1955 I started my training, first as a sick children’s nurse and then as a registered general nurse. I was hospital trained in England.

The work was hard and at first involved scrubbing bed-pans and menial jobs which was not nursing work at all. It was great to graduate to actually care for patients. I did a 56 hour week, often with split shifts and 12 hour night duty stints for three months at a time. A second or third year student was often left in charge of a 30 bed ward at night with an auxiliary to help and a supervisor on call. Of course we were doing basic nursing and not expected to be technicians or a computer whiz as you need to be today. Our patients survived in spite of us!

After working in the field of cardio/thoracic surgery with both adults and children for several years I came by sea to work in the cardio/thoracic unit at Wellington hospital where I met my husband.

Eventually we moved to Dunedin where I again worked in the chest surgery unit until the birth of my sons. My nursing career then took a change in direction and I started district nursing two evenings a week and found I loved it. On moving to Greymouth in 1974 my second son had health problems so nursing went on hold for some time. Finally I went back to district nursing until I retired at the age of 66, with some casual- call today.

I have always had a strong faith and been involved in church work. When I was considering retirement I felt my skills could be put to use as a parish nurse and mentioned the idea to the Vicar. With his blessing and after training in Nelson I got started. I now run a monthly clinic for people to drop into mostly for blood- pressure checks and advice. I welcome anyone who comes, many are not church goers, or are from other denominations. I average about 16 hours a week visiting Parishioners with problems such as sickness, bereavement or just loneliness and I field lots of phone calls.

I have a wider community vision and have had opportunities to speak to people of other denominations. I get occasional referrals from GPs, mostly for blood pressure monitoring but word of mouth spreads quickly in small communities. Other health community professionals in my town know of my role and I am sure the Faith Community nursing role is valid. People ring me and/or stop me in the street for advice. It is very much a fellowship - caring role. God willing I will have many more years to continue in His

Hilary Black Registered Nurse
I have been Parish nurse (FCN) at Onslow Anglican parish since 2006. I work 16 paid hours per week with frequent voluntary extra hours as needed.
I spend most time visiting parishioners at home, in hospital or in Residences. Discussing health or spiritual issues; accompanying them to clinics/ appointments and explaining medical letters or results; advising on when to see the General Practitioner; accompanying to different facilities when the decision has to be made about the choice
of residential care; the list is too big to note individually.

Previous experience as a practice nurse allows me to enable people to find the help they need with community care or other services.

I have trained a visitor's group of 5 people who share the ongoing support of those unable to attend services and an offshoot of this is a regular monthly home-made afternoon tea following Communion at a local Residence which enables Residents to have social contact with familiar church practice and see familiar faces from the 'outside' world and their former parish.

I run an exercise group for Women aged 60+; have helped set up a young women/mothers group; a ' Well-man' educational evening with a local GP; followed by a free blood pressure, blood sugar, ear check with referral to the GP as needed; an Emergency preparedness seminar (ongoing in New Zealand); a Health News notice board dealing with
seasonal issues, eg time for Flu vaccination, summer food hygiene, measles etc; enabled the provision of 'skin packs' for children in
impoverished areas suffering from infections, and this year plan to hold a 'Loss and Grief' seminar.

Opening all activities to the community has resulted in growing community links too.

In 2010 I was honoured to be acknowledged by the local District Health Board for my work in primary care, with an educational scholarship.
This was a wonderful recognition by the secular world of nursing for parish nursing. I have also been invited to speak at various church meetings about the role of parish nursing and also have opportunity when attending normal nursing education opportunities to explain my field of work.

To sum up'"...whatever you did for one of the least of
my brothers you did for me" matt.25:40 and "...faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead..." James 2:17 .