Spiritual Condition Evaluation

Spiritual integration in nursing includes providing care to an individual as a whole, considering their social and mental factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of the disease that are presented subjectively or objectively. Rom 15:1 (New International version), can be interpreted as that the nurses have the responsibility of providing care to the patients, in their vulnerable time of sickness without taking credit for it, because God have chosen them to do so for his own glory. Spirituality can have different definitions, to some it can mean having faith in religion, and to others it can mean inner strength through life experiences that bring inspiration. Whereas, many people do not even know they practice spirituality on daily basis, but as nurses we are part of healing process. Recognizing how patient view their health and spiritual needs, can help speedup healing process. This paper will address my recent interaction with an ill patient, how I applied my spiritual belief, values, and faith, and my strength and weakness and areas of improvement in taking care of patient.

The mental health field has a heritage of 100 years of ignoring and pathologizing spiritual experiences and religion (Lukoff, 2000). In 1994, a new diagnostic category called “Religious or Spiritual Problem” was introduced in the DSM–IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association). For the first time, there is acknowledgement of distressing religious and spiritual experiences as nonpathological problems. As a co-author of the new category, Lukoff and Turner (1995) indicated that adequate training is not proved by most graduate programs and internship sites to prepare them to deal with religion and spirituality issues.

The article “The Practice of the Ministry of Medicine” by Dr. Margaret Mohrmann was written to share real life stories of patients struggling with diseases. The article “Spiritual struggle and affective symptoms among geriatric mood disordered patients” by David H. Rosmarin, Mary C. Malloy and Brent P. Forester was written to explain the medical approach on spiritual care for patients. Therefore, these articles show the difference between emotional and unemotional language while discussing healing a person.

Through out this essay I will be discussing what the various possible meanings of spirituality are along with the seven basic worldview questions. My personal worldview and options will also be included.

Reading this article further persuaded me on the positive correlation between mental and physical wellness with spirituality. Integrating spirituality and scriptures with mental health approaches promote and increases overall wellness. Cognitive-behavioral therapies have proven to be effective in sustaining restructure in the client’s perception, which in turn decreases depressive symptoms.

Experiences, religious or otherwise, possess and exude a subjective nature in and of itself-- it is with this in consideration that one must realize the difficulty of analyzing a personal experience “cognitively,” objectively, or literally. Particularly, religious experiences symbolically bring forth ideals and values commonly seen in theistic beliefs and “moral” values, such as a strong urge to do good deeds unto others, advocating peace and love, and feelings characteristic of humanity. To its fullest extent, a religious experience occurs as a result of letting go of egotistical thoughts in order to truly appreciate the “universe,” or a higher force not necessarily seen in theistic religions such as Christianity and Islam. In abandoning the

Assessing an individual's spirituality helps a social worker to understand the role of spirituality in that person's life. A social worker will gain knowledge of the individual's beliefs, values, and their spiritual strengths (Hodge, p.168 .) Having this knowledge allows a social worker to effectively assist their clients.

Many may believe that one’s spirituality and religion does not coexist with the efforts to provide beyond satisfactory care in the healthcare field, but they’re wrong. To provide the patient with extraordinary care it is inevitable to understand their religious and spiritual beliefs. This ensures the patient a versatile environment that they feel comfortable in. It is essential as healthcare providers to understand how spirituality and religion may play a role in the patients’ health assessment process.

Kimber, T. R. (2012). The Role of Spiritual Development in the Cross-Cultural Reentry Adjustment of Missionaries. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY & THEOLOGY, 40 (3), 211-219.

By applying this spiritual needs assessment questionnaire with the patient, Seema understood her trust in the Granth Sahib whom she prays to on daily basis. She belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She read the Gutka, and attending Sikh temple are essential to her everyday life. Because of this, she wished to be acceptable 30 minutes to pray twice a day and read Gutka Sahib in afternoon. She wears clothes related to her religious like turban on the hair religious garments. Coping with her illness is more acceptable with her spirituality, beliefs, and faith in her GOD. She says death is not the end and her family who very close to her one day be with her again. It improves the grief expressive that God with

“Spirituality is derived from the Latin word spiritus, spirit, the essential part of the person which controls the mind and the mind controls the body. Thus the spirit is the vital life force which motivate people and influence ones life, health behavior and relationships” (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). She also stated that spirituality is the mainstream of life which unifies all aspects of the human being. Spirituality applies to both believers and non believers, including the presence of diverse cultural beliefs (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). Culliford stated that : “In times of emotional stress, physical illness, loss, bereavement and death human beings tend to find comfort, peace, inspiration, reverence and meaning by focusing on their spirituality whether they believe in God or not” (Culliford, 2002). In a study conducted by Tuck and Thingajana the meaning of spirituality was voiced by person living with HIV disease and healthy adults. The definitions voiced by the HIV patients were that “Spirituality is relating and believing in God, who is always present. It is perceived as being guided or helped or being inspired or giving unto. Spirituality includes the process of journeying, discovering and centering and is outwardly expressed” (Tuck & Thinganjana, 2007). The definitions of Spirituality expressed by the healthy individuals were that:

He clearly has a passion for the work he is doing. Because he stresses seeing God in everything, he tells his readers how important it is to have a child-like faith. By having this child-like faith we will be able to use our imagination to see him. It can open up all sorts of new doors into seeing God and how He is working. At the same time, it is important to read this book with a mature faith.As Christians we must hold unto truth discerning evil from good. Being open and recognizing that God can speak and move in all kinds of places is important to understand. Knowing sin infects everything but also realizing that it doesn’t have the capacity to destroy anything. Being ‘in the world’ and around those who are surround by evil and exposing their sin can lead to good. So therefore good can come out of

Koss-Chioino & Hefner (2006) defined spirituality as the search for the sacred. The search is the path that one follows towards the sacred, which most religions claim to offer. The sacred is somewhat ineffable in nature, but in very simplistic terms it refers to the divine (Koss-Chioino & Hefner, 2006). It is important to note that the idea of the divine may vary for different people depending on various factors such as culture, religion, subjective experiences, individual differences, and so on. Regardless of differences between people’s conceptions of the divine, researchers are mostly interested in finding consistent patterns throughout a diversity of spiritual experiences so that it may be applied in clinical settings due to its strong

Throughout my life I have been involved in a dynamic battle that always comes back to one question: Is there such thing as “God”? I have been raised up in a pretty much non practicing Christian home. To grow up in this type of lifestyle I have encountered a multitude of different belief systems that were either Secular or Christian-like. But with this debate of if God is real or not I have come across the issue of how to walk out my life with the time that I have. This paper will go through the debate of the topic of morality in secular mindsets, and Christian mindsets. Christian and secular thinkers have different points of view when it comes down to belief in God, however all of mankind has morality written into the foundation of their thinking in some shape or form. This can be seen through the Christian worldview by understanding man’s condition before and after conversion. This also can be seen in secular thinkers by understanding the secular mindset through how the world came to be as it is today and its evolution of ‘reason’ out of some major theorist in the past.

Wars have been fought, prophesies have been made, books have been written, and lives have been changed, all in the name of God. For centuries man has posed the question as to whether or not an all-knowing, all-powerful, and unconditionally loving God truly exists. While there are many who searched for and believe in the existence of some form of supreme being that has ultimate control over our existence, there are others who don’t believe in any such higher power. According to Hunter (1974), “It is not easy to find a perfect understanding of God. The search requires persistent effort, and there are some who never move themselves to pursue this knowledge. In place of making the struggle and effort to understand, they follow the