CFCN study guide
CFCN · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Faith Community Nurse (CFCN) credential is a professional certification for registered nurses who practice at the intersection of nursing and faith community life - often called parish nursing. Candidates typically hold an active RN license, have completed foundational faith community nursing education, and serve or intend to serve in congregations, faith-based clinics, senior ministries, or community health outreach. The CFCN study guide has 7 sections and about 1,791 words.
01Spirituality and Spiritual Care
Spirituality is the search for meaning, purpose, connection, and transcendence; religion is an organized system of beliefs and practices. A client can be deeply spiritual without being religious, and religious without much spiritual reflection.
276 words, about 1 min02Health Promotion and Wellness Education
Health promotion spans primary (prevent onset), secondary (early detection), and tertiary (limit disability) prevention. Education is a behavior-change intervention, not a lecture.
260 words, about 1 min03Community Assessment and Program Planning
Community assessment blends data sources: windshield surveys, key informant interviews, focus groups, and secondary epidemiologic data. Assess both needs and assets, including congregations, volunteers, clinics, transport, and social networks, because programs built only on deficits rarely sustain.
238 words, about 1 min04Care Coordination and Resource Navigation
Care coordination is the deliberate organization of care across providers, settings, and time. Faith community nurses often serve as the bridge: medication reconciliation, referral, appointment support, transportation planning, and follow-up after hospitalization.
248 words, about 1 min05Ethics, Advocacy, and Professional Practice
Core principles are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, veracity, and fidelity. Faith community nursing adds distinctive tensions: dual relationships with fellow congregants, implied consent from a faith affiliation, and pressure to give religious counsel beyond nursing scope.
244 words, about 1 min06Cultural Humility and Faith-Tradition Integration
Cultural humility is a lifelong stance: self-reflection, recognition of power imbalances, and openness to being corrected. It differs from cultural competence, which can imply a finished checklist.
267 words, about 1 min07Documentation, Quality, and Safety
Documentation is the legal record of nursing judgment and care. Chart objectively: what was observed, what was said (in quotes when relevant), what was done, the client's response, and the plan.
258 words, about 1 min