IU Kokomo Offers Faith Community Nursing Microcredential
IU Kokomo offers Faith Community Nursing microcredential
KOKOMO, Ind. — As a nurse, Susan Ploughe is used to people reaching out to her with questions about their health. Through Indiana University Kokomo, she’s equipping her fellow nurses to provide answers and support within their faith communities, with an Indiana University Kokomo microcredential.
Ploughe, senior lecturer of nursing, is among the School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions (SNAHP) faculty teaching the Faith Community Nursing program as part of IU Kokomo’s Achieve Improve Master (AIM) microcredential program. Beginning September 24, the program will help registered nurses promote wellness, provide spiritual support, and advocate for healing in their communities.
Registration is open for up to 20 learners at go.iu.edu/8u86. Cost is $400 for the hybrid class, which meets for eight weeks both on campus and online. It is open to RNs or advanced practice nurses of any faith tradition with an active, unencumbered license and a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
Ploughe said the class uses the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing curriculum from the Westberg Institute.
“The curriculum is based on how you incorporate spirituality; however you define spirituality, into your healthcare practice,” she said. “These nurses work within their faith communities for education, for wellness, for better health in general. They promote healthy lifestyles with a holistic approach to body, mind, and spirit.”
The class is for practicing nurses “who have been out of school for a while, they’re confident in their practice, and they see a need in their own church family,” she said, adding that they can be a bridge from their faith community to their own health care providers, by making them feel comfortable addressing their health care.
Ploughe said as a microcredential the class is not for credit and is not graded. There will be assignments, but no tests. Each participant will do an assessment of his or her faith community and build an education plan based on its needs. They will also plan programs and a newsletter, as well as a presentation on a health care topic of interest to their faith community.
“As a nurse, you’re accustomed to people reaching out to you with questions,” she said. “As a community faith nurse, they will take these kinds of questions into account and build a program within their faith community around things like how to live with congestive heart failure, how to weigh yourself, how to exercise properly, end of life discussions, legal documents you need as an elderly person, and other topics your community is interested in.”
The session is part of IU Kokomo’s AIM program, which offers non-credit-bearing microcredentials called badges. Microcredentials are competencies or certifications in a topic area that can be used to upskill and advance in interpersonal skills or technology, or to equip people to take on new roles or leverage new tools.
IU Kokomo has previously offered microcredentials on topics including Essentials of Leadership, and Robert’s Rules of Order. Leah Nellis, vice chancellor for innovation and special projects, said additional microcredential programs will also be available in fall 2025. Individuals can enroll directly in existing microcredential programs. However, programs can also be created upon request to meet the needs of local businesses and organizations.
AIM offerings can range from brief programs to year-long or semester-long series. They can be delivered in person, by video conference, online, or in a hybrid format.
For more information, contact Nellis at lmnellis@iu.edu.
