...Spirituality in Nursing: Where Do I Fit In? Abstract Spirituality has many definitions. For some it is a belief in a greater power, a sense of being connected with all living things, or the development of values. For others it is the way to find peace and comfort for their lives. Spirituality is an important component of the care provided to patients by health care providers. Before spiritual care can be given the provider must understand the patient’s spiritual needs. However, this is not always possible due to barriers that arise. Spirituality in Nursing: Where Do I Fit In? Spirituality has many definitions. For some it is a belief in a greater power, a sense of being connected with all living things, and the development of values. For others it is the way to find peace and comfort for their lives. Spirituality is often associated with religion, and some say they develop their spirituality through music, art, or by connecting with nature. Others say they find spirituality through acts of compassion and selflessness. One’s religion is different than spirituality (Munoz-Garcia, 2008). Religion is beliefs and behaviors based on religious traditions or denominations. If a nurse does not understand the difference, the patient’s spiritual needs may be neglected. History Spirituality in healthcare dates back to the earliest of times. Some of the earliest images date back to approximately 7,000 years ago. These images portrayed the nourishment and protection...
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...found in nursing and health-related literature used to assess and evaluate patient spirituality as more than religiosity. Background. Holistic healthcare practitioners recognize important distinctions exist about what constitutes spiritual care needs and preferences and what constitutes religious care needs and preferences in patient care practice. Data sources. Databases searched, limited to the years 1982 and 2009, included AMED, Alt Health Watch, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, EBSCO Host, EBSCO Host Religion and Philosophy, ERIC, Google Scholar, HAPI, HUBNET, IngentaConnect, Mental Measurements Yearbook Online, Ovid MEDLINE, Social Work Abstracts and Hill and Hood's Measures of Religiosity text. Review methods. A methodological review was carried out. Measures assessing spirituality as more than religiosity were critically reviewed including quality appraisal, relevant data extraction and a narrative synthesis of findings. Results. Ten measures fitting inclusion criteria were included in the review. Despite agreement among nursing and health-related disciplines that spirituality and religiosity are distinct and diverse concepts, the concept of spirituality was often used interchangeably with the concept religion to assess and evaluate patient spirituality. The term spiritual or spirituality was used in a preponderance of items to assess or evaluate spirituality. Conclusions. Measures differentiating spirituality from religiosity are grossly lacking in nursing and health-related...
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...Assessment Evaluation Spirituality has been part of nursing from its’ infancy. Initially, nursing care of the sick, was provided by monks as part of a religious order. Florence Nightingale who is credited with revolutionizing modern nursing was said to have chose the profession, because God called her to serve (Nursing-Theory.org, n.d.). Nightingale was the first to revolutionize this thought process, as she realized that healing was holistic, and even involved the patient’s environment. As a result, our profession now recognizes the need to treat the patient holistically, to include the patient’s spirituality. Two examples of assessment tools that assess spirituality are the HOPE assessment tool and the FICA spiritual assessment tool. The HOPE assessment tool uses the acronym to remember all elements of the assessment. H stands for hope, O stands for the patient’s organized religion. P stands for personal spirituality, and E stands for end of life decisions (LaRocca-Pitts, 2009). The FICA spiritual tool acronym stands for Faith or belief, Importance of the patient’s spirituality, their individual spiritual community, and Addressing spirituality (Borneman, Ferrell, & Puchalski, 2010). The author believes that patient spirituality should be assessed immediately in order to ensure holistic care, so a new spiritual assessment tool called, “RAPID” was developed. The RAPID assessment tool acronym is representative of important elements of spirituality so the healthcare...
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...yReflection: Spirituality This reflection will follow Gibbs (1988) ‘learn by doing’ model to give an account of a personal experience that was faced during a practice placement. Spirituality has been chosen as the topic to reflect upon after the student (the author) was encouraged to address questions about the spiritual part of care, in which positive practice was felt. The incident in question involved a female patient who was suffering with severe depression following a traumatic event several years prior. A pseudonym will be used for the patient throughout this reflection to ensure confidentiality is maintained, and in compliance to the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2008) code. Difficult or traumatic events in a persons’ life may lead to questions about why something is happening or why something happens at all. Spirituality or looking for meaning in life is a personal thing that often becomes more important in times of emotional distress, physical and mental illness, loss, bereavement and the approach of death. For some people spirituality is a religious belief, but for others spirituality can be a source of inspiration or orientation in life such as appreciating nature (National Health Service, 2012) and (The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010). Furthermore it has been suggested that often it is not until a crisis or illness occurs that spiritual encounters transpire, in addition to physical and emotional experiences because the illusion of security is shattered...
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...Inventory The concept of spirituality is a part of the human experience and encompasses the search for meaning in life. It is a sense that there is a power greater than ourselves and it connects us to each other and other creatures. Spirituality is about seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself, which can result in positive emotions, such as peace, awe, contentment, gratitude, and acceptance ("Spirituality," n.d.). Philosophically the search for spirituality encompasses asking the questions “Who, what and why are we, what is my purpose and where did I come from?” ("Spirituality," n.d.). Some people seek the answers to these questions through their religion while others find them through art or nature. Sociology’s definition of spirituality is based on the study of relationships where people influence other people. Sociology describes spirituality as spiritual practices, rituals, and social morality of a group of people (Seaward, 2013, p. 34). Thus sociology would encompass the idea of religious pluralism. Religious pluralism is the concept that no one religion is the way to god. Rather it recognizes that there are religions other than Christianity that seek to commune with god ("Pluralism," n.d.). The ecumenical concept has only recently become part of western culture ("Pluralism," n.d.). People perceive their lives through the lens of their experiences based on their cultural and spiritual background. Spirituality and scientism to the writer...
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...Paradigm Anna Hernandez Grand Canyon University Spirituality in Health Care HLT-310V Richard Hudock July 27, 2014 Healing Hospitals: A Daring Paradigm Spirituality and religions, effects on health has become an increasing interest to scientist since the 1980’s. According to Smith (2006), spirituality has gained such a momentum that there are multiple articles and several textbooks on spirituality since the year of 1989. The consensus is developing that spirituality and religion are closely related to physical and psychological health and that spirituality and health are an important focus in nursing research (Smith, 2006). Spirituality, however, has many definitions. The majority accord that, it is defined as the manner by which persons seek meaning in their lives and experience transcendence-connectedness to that which is beyond the self (Smith, 2006, p. 41). Spirituality has two dimensions and is a highly complex concept. There are two components of spirituality that are generally described. The vertical, which describes the transcendent, is the connection between a patients (inner body) or something outside such as, a higher power or the divine (Smith, 2006). The horizontal component relates to the connection between persons. This consists of individual and social support that are, set in, the spiritual context by religious setting and spiritual relationships (Smith, 2006). The American Association of Critical Care Nursing (2006) believe that the patient environment...
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...Nursing 243 Assignment: Cultural and Spiritual Assessment Cultural and Spiritual Assessment Transcultural nursing and culturally congruent care are important ideas of today’s nursing, especially in North America. In order to give a culturally congruent care, the nurse should do a cultural assessment; a good cultural assessment will reveal the invisible part of a culture. According to Potter and Perry (2009), “It is important to understand that the invisible value-belief system of a particular culture is often the major driving force behind visible practices” (p. 107). Cultural and spiritual assessment paper gives me a chance to look at my own culture. “Becoming culturally competent first requires you to examine your feelings and experiences regarding diversity, starting with an understanding of your own heritage. Then, you will need to learn more about specific cultural differences so you can develop an appreciation for the values and beliefs of both patients and staff co-workers” (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010, p. 28). As far as mental health patients, it is an absolute necessary to understand the client’s culture since it has a very big influence on their wellness state. If a healthcare provider does not consider the client’s culture, it will cause lots of trouble and pain for the client. “Clients suffer cultural pain when health care providers disregard their valued way of life” (Potter & Perry, 2009, p. 113). Spirituality has an important role...
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...Running Head: COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS Concept Comparison and Analysis Across Theories Paper on Spirituality University of Phoenix Online Developing and Evaluating Educational Programs (NUR/588) Dr. Amy McClune 4 June 2007 Concept Comparison and Analysis Across Theories Paper on Spirituality Spirituality in nursing and medicine has been a conflicting topic because many things have occurred which cannot be explained or proven through scientific experimentation. The only plausible explanation that has been given points to a higher power or being. Florence Nightingale believed she had a calling from God to do her work in nursing not only to physically heal but spiritually heal as well. On the other hand, Dr. Larry Dossey felt medicine alone could not heal and it is the responsibility of the physician to invoke the “power of prayer” to assist with a patient’s healing process. During the mid-nineteenth century, optimism ran high in England. With the rise of empiricism, in which all knowledge is derived from experience, science blossomed and gave rise to high hopes for conquering drudgery and disease. Florence Nightingale went to Crimea and by applying good principles of sanitation, she made a major difference in the death rate of British soldiers – from 42% to 2% (Shelly & Miller, 1999). During this time Florence Nightingale observed that the common people in her day were becoming atheists and losing their basis for ethical...
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...Healing Hospital Rhonda Hofstrom Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V Spirituality In Nursing Instructor: Jeney Park-Hearn January 16, 2015 Healing hospital is a new paradigm in healthcare it is no longer just about treating the disease or diagnosis, there is a new push to heal the person’s spiritual well-being also. Puchaski & McShimming (2006) say that spirituality is what supports a person enabling them to cope with the challenges and stresses of everyday life (as cited in Dunn, 2010). If healthcare is able to heal the human spirit, healing of the body should follow. This paper will explore the concept of a healing environment, how spirituality plays a part, and the challenges that come about when changing the environment from being disconnected disease treatment focused to patient focused. Healing Hospital Make-Up and Spirituality’s Involvement Healing hospitals are composed of a healing physical environment, an efficient work environment with advanced technology and a principle of “Radical loving care” (Eberst, 2008). If nurses are “healing instruments”, then their own spiritual well-being must be important in order to be able to be positive presence while caring for the patient (Dunn, 2010). The primary focus is on the healing and well-being of the individual patient, with care being provided in a quieter environment, encouraging well-ness within the “whole” individual and decreasing the stressors that are found within...
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...Spiritual needs Assessment Punnackal house Jolly Grand Canyon University Spirituality in Health care HLT-310V May 1, 2011 Spiritual needs Assessment Spirituality is a sensitive subject, and not everyone is open to discussing one’s beliefs. How well a patient discusses their spirituality is somewhat dependent on the nurse. A caring empathetic nurse is more likely to develop and maintain a holistic rapport and trust with patient. However, their involvement is essential in promoting spiritual health among patients. The difficulty nurses face in implementing spiritual care with patients starts with their incorrect interpretation of the concept of spirituality. Spirituality is defined as an experience that a person has had that gives purpose and meaning to life and death; it may or may not include relationships with God, or other divine power. The key emphasis on a spiritual assessment is to be able to obtain patient information regarding spiritual health in order to plan nursing care. . Individualized plan of care and increased interaction with patients will make a great impact on patient’s care which will increase the self-esteem of the patient, and allow them to return to productive life style. “Meeting patients’ spiritual needs” is a medical professional duty as defined by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (Bensing, 2000). In 2001 JCAHO revised its accrediting standards and it is mandatory to do the spiritual assessment of...
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...Spiritual Assessment NUR 645E Grand Canyon University April 3, 2013 Abstract Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are easy to use and provides details on a wide range of aspects related to multicultural beliefs. The HOPE Questions is not supported by research thereby it is not valid or reliable. Key Words: spiritual assessment, FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool, HOPE Questions Spiritual Assessment Taking patients spiritual needs into account is an integral component of providing holistic care. Research has linked positive health outcomes with patients whose spiritual needs have been addressed. However, spirituality is not always considered an important part of a patient’s well-being; leading to spiritual assessments not being completed. To aid in addressing a patients spiritual needs, there are spiritual assessment tools available. Some of the tools available...
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...Personal Worldview Inventory Elizabeth Benni Grand Canyon University: HTL310 Spirituality in Nursing November 1, 2015 Spirituality Spirituality can be defined in many ways. Spirituality is a common human experience that affects each and every one of us. It is looking for something more than what can be found in the physical world. It is a personal relationship a person has with God. Spirituality is usually a concept that was considered when people formed their worldviews. Dualism In the modern Western worldview we can look at dualism as an example. Dualism as the word suggests refers to two parts. In this perspective “good and evil are two independent entities locked in eternal conflict” (Shelly and Miller, 2006). It shows us contrasting concepts paired together: sweet-sour, yin-yang etc. Many medieval scholars interpreted this worldview by saying that the “good” would be heaven and the “evil” was earth. They had put more emphasis onto the supernatural side of the matter. Scientism Another worldview would be scientism which practically disregards all spirituality. In this worldview everything can be explained by empirical science (Shelly, 2006). This completely contradicts with the postmodern worldview which many people argue is our current worldview. In this viewpoint there is “an increasing recognition that science cannot give meaning to life”. The world is what we see and how we describe it to be. ...
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...Hospitals: A Daring Paradigm Kimberly Howell Grand Canyon University Foundations of Spirituality in Health Care HLT-310-0101 October 13, 2012 Healing Hospitals: A Daring Paradigm The healing hospital paradigm is a hospital model that focuses on the recovery and wellness of patients as a whole. Unlike other hospital settings this one focuses on the person as a whole body, mind, and spirit. Also included in the paradigm is the setting of the aesthetics of the hospital, which include things like being pleasing to the eye and the noise level of the facility. This paper will present the components of a healing hospital and the role spirituality plays in the recovery. It also will include the challenges faced while trying to provide a healing environment. Nurses today are being mandated by professional and regulating organizations (American Holistic Nurses’ Association 2005, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health-care Organizations 2005) to incorporate spiritual assessment and interventions into their practice (Miner-Williams, 2006). In order to do this there must be a definition or an explanation of what spirituality is. Spirituality can‘t be wrapped up in a definition; it is the human part of humanistic. It consists of compassion, safety, trust, respect, support and creating positive outcomes in people’s lives and health. (Ashcraft 2010). Laura Mancuso stated, “Spirituality is highly personal, very central to a person’s inner life, and oftentimes inseparable from...
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...of Nursing Student’ Name Institutional affiliation Personal Philosophy of Nursing Introduction Nursing is defined by the American Nurses Association as an act of safeguarding and upholding health and capabilities, preventing disease and harm, easing distress by offering diagnosis and treatment of any diseases that threaten the existence of the human race, and advocate for better care for individuals and communities in general (American Nurses Association, 2004, p. 7). Having a personal philosophy in this field is important. Philosophy refers to beliefs, and values of an individual that help reveal underlying values and belief about a field (Watson, 2008, p.259). Seedhouse (2000) defined nursing philosophy as a term that encompasses foundational and universal assumptions regarding the nursing profession.It further stipulates the beliefs and values that touch on the nature of knowledge and truth of the entities in the nursing profession and human wellbeing processes as indicated by the meta-paradigm (p.493). My personal philosophy of nursing is founded on the building blocks of philosophy that are, attitudes, beliefs, and values. There is a need for me as a professional nurse to believe and show the significance of nursing (ANA, 2002, P.15). This can be done by clearly articulating my personal philosophy of nursing. The philosophy will help me define how I can find my unique truth. My personal philosophy building began by trying to answer questions about what nursing means...
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...The Holistic Assessment: Psychological, Physiological, Cultural, Spiritual and Psychosocial Wilfredo Mamaril Sternberg College The holistic assessment is an essential component of quality care that allows a psychiatric nurse to identify, diagnose and treat their patients based on every individual’s specific needs. A comprehensive assessment of a client’s health across multiple dimensions, such as their physiological, psychological, spiritual, cultural and psychosocial domains, are important “prerequisites for formulating an appropriate nursing diagnosis and plan of care” (Carniaux-Moran) particular to each patient. This assessment is achieved through interviews and assessments between the nurse and the client that “[varies] according to the state of the participants and the context in which the interview takes place” (Carniaux-Moran). It assists a nurse towards a more proficient and thorough diagnoses. For one, it is vital to consider a client’s past and present physical condition in order to determine if any of these medical disorders have an impact on their mental health. For example, patients who present symptoms for some common psychiatric illness such as nervousness, irritability and insomnia, can actually be suffering from underlying medical condition such as hypothyroidism or low lithium levels. In order to overcome the shortcomings of the visual observation of symptoms, nurses often perform a medical workup to rule out organic illnesses and ensure that the client...
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