Spiritual Assessments: A Case Study

I have spent the majority of my career in the ED and have recently transitioned into a management role so it has been years since I performed a spiritual assessment. However, while working on the inpatient unit, I can recall performing spiritual assessments as a part of the admission assessment. Far less detailed that the FICA spiritual assessment, the basic assessment included the patient’s religious preference, religious commitment scoring, and desire for a Chaplain during their hospital stay. Spiritual assessments relay the individual’s spiritual life history, allowing practitioners to gain multidimensional insight into family dynamics and spiritual framework (Hodge, 2001).

This article, developing a Spiritual Assessment Toolbox: A Discussion of the Strengths and Limitations of Five Different Assessment Methods, discusses and reviews a variety of assessment methods developed to examine the spiritual lives of clients. According to Hodge (2005), “…for service provision to be as effective as possible, spiritual beliefs and practices often have to be taken into account (p. 314).” Because a client’s spiritual worldview is often a guiding principle for their lives, it is important to use an assessment method that takes this into account. This article looks at five different methods for this purpose: (1) spiritual histories, (2) spiritual lifemaps, (3) the spiritual

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

In providing basic health care in hospitals, medical practitioners should not only focus on giving physical treatment to patients but also provide spiritual and psychological assessment and management for them. This practice as suggested by many studies (see Chapman, 2003; Eberst, n.d.,) can help the hospitals develop a new method of healing that is more holistic in approach. The Joint Commission (2005) recommends spiritual assessment program which can help the medical officers to know the needs of the patients aside from the usual physical treatment. It will help them

4. Hodge, D. (2001). Spiritual assessment: a review of major qualitative methods and a new framework for assessing spirituality. Social Work , 203-214

Religion and spirituality is a major essential part of one’s’ health. They have included things such as prayer in healing, counseling, and the use of meditation. Spiritual issues make a difference in an individual’s experience of illness and health. With spirituality, the health care providers can learn to support the values for the art of healing. The health care provider must have respect for their patient’s religion. (Larry Dossey. Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper Collins, San Francisco. 1993.)

In this paper the author will explain what is faith and religion, and compare the philosophy of Sikh, Buddhism, and Jewish religions with that Christian and the author’s religion, include spiritual perspective and elements of healing, how necessary is to permit patient to practice their religious beliefs and rituals, and last, describe how this information could be incorporated into the daily health care professionals routine.

The following essay will discuss the results of an interview conducted regarding the spiritual values of a patient. The essay will include: what went well and what can be improved for future interviews. Finally, how the interview helped the writer better understand her patient’s spiritual needs will be addressed.

For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and

Cashwell, C. S., Young, J. S., Fulton, C. L., Wills, B. T., Giordano, A., Daniel, L. W., et al. (2013). Clinical behaviors for addressing religious/spiritual issues: Do we practice what we preach? Retrieved from http://search.proques.com/docview/1346947296?accountid=34899

I thought the on developing a spiritual toolbox was very in lighting and informative. David Hodge, provide some great examples of why a spiritual assessment should be used when working with clients in a holistic approach. Assessments are tools to gather information about clients. While there are many different types of assessments that are given. Spiritual assessments can be used to gather information about a client’s spiritual/religious condition, cultural background, beliefs, and attitudes.

Spirituality has been in and out of healthcare and has proven effective every time that it is used. Implementing spirituality into healthcare allows for faster recovery times, better interpersonal relationships with their healthcare providers, and a more holistic approach to healthcare. Several approaches to analyzing it have proven it to be effective but is often not taught when educating future nurses. Through the barriers and the controversy spirituality remains as an important aspect of a patient’s recovery process.

Duncan from the University of Minnesota, “it is well documented that hope, belief, and faith positively influence health outcomes” (2016) because of her strength she expressed in her God this spiritual intervention may be the most profound healing approach. Prayer requires a commitment from the individual but does not incur any expenses. Also, “Murphy's 2009 study examining religious beliefs in clinically depressed patients found that "belief in a concerned God can improve response to medical treatment" (2016, Duncan). Consequently, this spirit approach may touch all areas of concern by lifting her spirits and restoring her

Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat

A Spiritual Condition Evaluation paper will be required of you. (Note: Write about yourself. However, If you would rather not write about yourself, you may select a living famous person to evaluate with the instructor’s prior approval. Remember in the final analysis, whether writing about yourself or someone else, only God knows a person’s heart completely so try to be both humble and gentle). This document will run from 900–1,500 words. You will use the course’s