Ordination: An option for the unlicensed healthcare practitioner

Ordination: An option for the unlicensed healthcare practitioner

The act of ordination is very beautiful and meaningful — and, often it results in a spiritual initiation.

by Irene Conlan — 

According to a recent survey by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 36 percent of U.S. adults age 18 and older use some form of complementary or alternative medicine. When the use of megavitamins and health-related prayer are considered, the percentage rises to 62 percent. Further, it is estimated that alternative medicine is a $15 billion annual business. While this figure does include licensed chiropractors and homeopaths, the majority of these practitioners falls into the category of “unlicensed healthcare practitioners.”

There is no regulation for the practice of energy medicine, “hands-on” healing or mind-body healing, and there is no specific malpractice insurance. Realizing that ours is an extraordinarily litigious society, one might wonder what these practitioners can do to protect themselves.

According to Dr. Larry Wilson’s Legal Guidelines for the Unlicensed Practitioner, one avenue of protection is ordination. Some disagree with this, because they think of “the minister” as someone who works for and in a church. Not necessarily so. A minister is “one who serves” and this service takes on many faces and approaches. According to Wilson, an ordained minister is allowed to perform “counseling, teaching, laying on of hands and non-invasive natural healing procedures including nutritional counseling.” It is important to note that ordination will not protect one who does substandard work or who practices outside the parameters of his profession, e.g., diagnosing or prescribing.

Ordination is now available through several sources: traditional programs of study in churches or church-sponsored colleges, followed by ordination; ordination via the Internet; or private programs that may be affiliated with a non-incorporated church or ministry. All are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court has declared all programs as valid ordinations. Some do not teach dogma or doctrine, recognizing the uniqueness of one’s spiritual path.

The act of ordination is very beautiful and meaningful — and, often it results in a spiritual initiation. It can be simply a means to some legal protection, or it can be a deeply spiritual experience. The choice is yours.

In addition to providing you some legal protection, ordination qualifies you to perform all the functions of a minister — weddings, funerals and baby blessings, for example. It is up to you to determine how you wish to serve.

Irene Conlan has a masters degree in nursing, is a certified hypnotherapist and a certified past life regression therapist.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 2, April/May 2005.