calling, you go to this higher level which is the vocation level, which has a spiritual dimension to the profession. . . . I think that whenever there is another human being involved, you see yourself as in a vocation, you really understand . . . “I can make it better” . . . one of my favorite mottos is, and I ask this of the nurses I work with: “if that woman was your grandmother, was your mother, was your sister, if that person was someone near and dear to you, how would you treat them?” That is the charge you have as nurses. Take care of these people like they were your own. That is the ministry way of looking at nursing; that is the spiritual way of looking at it. Anne, Supervisor of a Critical Care Unit Spirituality in Nursing: Standing on Holy Ground

Spirituality in Nursing: Standing on Holy Ground

Making Sense of Spirituality in Nursing and Health Care Practice - An Interactive Approach: Second editionMaking Sense of Spirituality in Nursing and Health Care Practice - An Interactive Approach: Second edition

Nurses' response to spiritual needs of cancer patients.

Nursing philosophy is fundamentally based on an ethos of holistic care. However, spiritual aspects of care are often neglected. There are questions about how spirituality is currently approached and to what extent student nurses feel competent in assessing and delivering spiritual care in practice. A literature review (1993-2017) was performed, using a systematic approach. From the themes identified in the literature review, five major knowledge and practice gaps were noted in nurse education. These were: lack of ontological integration; lack in phenomenological understanding; lack of support and environmental constraints; curriculum structure and unprepared Faculty. Developing competency to deal with spiritual issues in nursing education is still a challenge. Issues of conceptual clarity and articulation around the ontological and phenomenological aspects of nursing must be addressed to prepare nurses to provide truly holistic care, including spiritual and existential issues. Adequate preparation, environmental support for both nursing educators and students, and explicit representation of spirituality in the nursing curriculum will facilitate this. An emphasis on the philosophical underpinnings of nursing care is needed to rebalance existing nursing education to embrace caring for spiritual needs as part of holistic care.

Spirituality in Nursing Education: Knowledge and practice gaps

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To determine factors associated with nurses' spiritual care competencies. BACKGROUND Holistic nursing care includes biopsychosocial and spiritual care. However, nurses are limited by a lack of knowledge, time constraints and apprehension of assessing spiritual issues, which leaves them unable to assess and meet patients' spiritual needs. Thus, when patients experience spiritual distress, clinical nurses lose the opportunity to support spiritual growth and self-actualisation. In Taiwan, spiritual care, religion and culture are unique compared to those in other countries. Overall, factors associated with Taiwanese nurses' spiritual care competencies lack comprehensive exploration. METHODS This study adopted a descriptive correlational design using cross-sectional survey (see Appendix S1). Cluster sampling was used to select clinical nurses from fourteen units of a medical centre and a regional hospital. Data were collected from January-June 2018 with a 97.03% response rate. Clinical nurses completed a background questionnaire, spiritual care practice questionnaire, spirituality and spiritual care-related scales. Data were analysed using descriptive and linear regression. This report followed the STROBE checklist. RESULTS Spiritual care competence ranged from 44-123 (mean 84.67 ± 12.88; range 27-135). The majority of clinical nurses rated their spiritual care competence as moderate (64-98). The significant factors associated with nurses' spiritual care competence were education, religion, interest in spiritual care, having role models, past life events, barriers to providing spiritual care of the spiritual care practice score, and spiritual attitude and involvement score. The overall model was significant (p < .001) and accounted for 55.0% of variance (adjusted R2  = .488). CONCLUSIONS Most clinical nurses have moderate spiritual care competence. Objective factors identified affect clinical nurses' spiritual care competencies. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE To improve nurses' spiritual care competencies, objective factors that affect clinical nurses' spiritual care competencies must be emphasised. Multiple strategies for enhancing nurses' own spiritual well-being can be provided via employee health promotion projects and activities, and promoting nurses' spirituality and spiritual care competencies can be explored in clinical settings through bedside teaching, situational simulation, objective structured clinical examinations and self-reflection.

Factors associated with spiritual care competencies in Taiwan's clinical nurses: A descriptive correlational study.

Since Florence Nightingale, spiritual care has been embraced in professional nursing as the integration and promotion of purpose and meaning in life.  Research reports that nurses have a prominent regard for spiritual care and acknowledge that it is part of their role.  The intention of this literature review is to explore effective ways for nursing faculty to teach spiritual care.  This in turn will help to advance spiritually educated nurses who can rise above obstacles to providing spiritual care to clients.  During the nursing formation process, spiritual care must be integrated into the nursing curricula throughout the didactic and clinical nursing education.  Numerous nurses today consider themselves underprepared to meet the spiritual needs of their clients, despite nursing’s past dedication to spiritual care.  Research further supports the appeal of clients to have their spiritual needs addressed while hospitalized.  Given the suitable resources and education, nurses can be positioned to address the spiritual care of clients.  Relevant nursing education on more effective ways to teach spiritual care will enhance the delivery of this vital aspect of holistic nursing.  The focus of holistic patient care is based on the Neuman systems model, where the spiritual variable considerations are necessary for a truly holistic perspective and caring concern for the patient.  As part of a successful pedagogy, a course of action and theory-based approach must be translated into preparing student nurses to incorporate spiritual care into their emerging practices.

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Margo L. Thompson

Papers

Teaching spirituality to student nurses