Understanding Patient's Spiritual Worldviews

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

How do your spiritual beliefs apply to your health? The most successful nurses can demonstrate a cultural awareness of self first which then carriers over into a keener cultural awareness of others. This understanding helps a nurse since over the past several decades most health organizations have been encouraged to become more culturally aware of the populations they serve and required to conform to national standards implemented by organizations such as The Joint Commission, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services organizations (Potter, Perry, & Stockert, 2016). Cultural self-awareness is a key to help all nurses provide the standard of cultural competent care set forth by the above listed national organizations.

I hope that with my personal beliefs and culture that I will be able to give exceptional care to those whose cultures differ from my own. I am very much a people pleaser and I would try my best to keep everyone happy and comfortable. I think that this comes from my culture of being a millennial. While I am not necessarily knowledgeable about other culture’s practices, rituals, and beliefs, I would try my best to make sure that my patients were taken care of in a manner that protects their health and respects their culture, religion, or race.

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.

Although this might be helpful in order for us to deliver a holistic nursing care, it should be noted that spirituality is broader than religion. The term religion tends to refer to a more socially organised and structure ways of being spiritual. It provides deep traditions of spiritual practices such as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism,

As Christians, we are taught to not judge others because it is not our place, so as nurses we would not judge our patients and their personal decisions. I believe Christianity makes us more understanding of people and the situations they are going through. Being understanding can help us to respect our patient’s religious/nonreligious views. An important effect this faith-based program could have on our future careers as nurses is our level of holistic care. At MVNU, we are taught to love all of God’s creations. We are supposed to think of all humans as our brothers and sisters, this could affect how much we care for our patients emotionally. Christian nurses may be better morally guided when providing care. We may be able to connect with some of our patients on a deeper level because of our spirituality. This faith-based program will help us work towards doing everything in Christ’s

Spiritual assessment and care of a patient at each medical or psychiatric appointment is an essential aspect of providing adequate care by all NPs. To be able to do so, NP must understand that spirituality and religiosity are not synonymous. Unlike the concept of religion, which defined by the online Oxford dictionary (2017) as “The belief in a worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods,” spirituality holds various definitions depending on whom you ask. According to Taylor (2002; who credits Reed [1992]) “…spirituality refers to that part of being human that seeks meaningfulness through intra-, inter-, and transpersonal connection (p. 10). Therefore, rapport with each

The spirituality in a healing hospital starts with the Chief Executive Officer and spirals downward toward management, and then the frontline employees. Healing hospitals must have a form of culture that serves the community. This includes the building, its contents, the CEO, the managers, and caregivers. This is what leads to the care that entails the spiritual mixture that takes into account a person’s whole body, which includes the mind and spirit.

Health care providers are challenged with caring for patients and families from different religions, faiths and cultures.  It is beneficial for a care provider to have an understanding of different beliefs so that the care and treatment plans coincide with patient’s religious faith.  Creating individualized plans of care to meet the spiritual needs of their patients is necessary for providing them holistic care.  Research is presented on three religious faiths, and their perspective will be compared to Christianity; helping nurses understand and recognize the diversity between different religions and faiths.

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

The assessment of one’s spirituality is a very personal process. In order to assess ones’ own spirituality, they must dig deep within themselves to discover what brings them strength, peace and security. Katie Enos, an aspiring nursing student at the University of Portland opened up with us how she has assessed her spirituality, and the ways it impacts her health and influences her future are of patients as a nurse. The assessment of her spirituality began with telling us where she finds her strength.

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

Spirituality is considered one of the components of health and wellness, and is a contributory factor in the delivery of holistic care (O’Shea, Wallace, Griffin, & Fitzpatrick, 2011). It only makes sense for us nurses to study and research spirituality since the nursing profession is committed to holistic development, which includes the spiritual dimension of life. However, elements such as time constraints, short staffing, insufficient formal education related to spiritual assessment and confusion between spirituality and religion have led to spirituality becoming a disregarded component of care (O’Shea et al., 2011). Adolescence is a crucial time in the development of a person’s spiritual path (Benson & Roehlkepartain, 2008). Findings showed that most adolescents hold spiritual or religious beliefs already and choose to draw on them when experiencing life-changing events. Despite this information, healthcare professionals overlook the spiritual needs of adolescents (Neuman, 2011).

Nurses that listen to their patients, not only notice that they are physically hurt, but they can also notice their emotional wounds. The empathy of knowing that the patient is emotionally hurt is part of the spirituality connection. Therefore, they might need comfort. O’Brien (2001) states that, “ No other profession provides the opportunity to touch and be touched by the human spirit as does the practice of nursing. It is this intimacy that calls us to reverence: reverence for God as our creator and Lord…” (pg.110). Nurses have the privilege to connect with people in ways that no other profession may be able to provide. Since nurses are patients advocate, our duty is to connect them with their spiritual beliefs and