Called to Care

Nursing keeps changing.The role of the nurse grew out of a Christian understanding of the human person as created in the image of God, and viewed the body as a living unity and the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 6:19). Contemporary nursing, however, is increasingly characterized by a diminished understanding of personhood. The impact on patient care has proven confusing and discouraging to many nurses.In the newly revised and expandedCalled to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing,Judith Allen Shelly and Arlene B. Miller define nursing for today based on a historically and theologically grounded understanding of the nurse's call:Nursing is a ministry of compassionate care for the whole person, in response to God's grace toward a sinful world, which aims to foster optimum health (shalom) and bring comfort in suffering and death for anyone in need.Called to Careasserts that nursing is a vocation, giving nurses a framework for understanding their mission and living out their calling: service to God through caring for others.

Arlene B. Miller is retired from the Department of Nursing at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. Judith Allen Shelly is resources director for Nurses Christian Fellowship and editor of the Journal of Christian Nursing.