******Please answer with a comment to the three response DQ below add citations and references answer separately thanks 🙂 *****

Response one: Spiritual care “must be an integral component of caring for the whole person and assessing spiritual needs should be included in the total nursing assessment” (Shelly & Miller, 2009, p. 254). From a Christian worldview, spiritual care can be defined as “putting people in touch with God through compassionate presence, active listening, witness, prayer, Bible reading and partnering with the body of Christ” (Shelly & Miller, 2009, p. 257).

My personal definition of spiritual care is providing care to my patients that is supportive of their personal belief system in a manner that provides them hope and resources to cope and heal. This may involve providing care within the framework of their personal religion or with a patient who is not religious, this may involve non-religious spiritual care such as meditation, integrating nature, self-care, relaxation techniques, music, and using gratitude journaling. In reviewing The Joint Commission’s recommendations for providing spiritual care, I realize there are questions to ask that I hadn’t thought of such as: “what are your spiritual goals?” or asking for the names of their own clergy or spiritual leader (“The Joint Commission,” 2019, p. 1). On a behavioral health unit, many of our patients are in a state of hopelessness and it is important to always take the time to provide a thorough spiritual assessment.

References:

Medical Record: Spiritual assessment. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.jointcommission.org/standards_informat…

Shelly, J., & Miller, A. (2009). Called to care: A Christian worldview for nursing. Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/intervarsity…

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Response two : My definition of spiritual care consists of providing care to patients based on their spiritual beliefs. Providing spiritual care should also provide a supportive, and comforting environment. This can mean providing religious or non-religious support to patients.

According to the reading provided for class spiritual care “must be an integral component of caring for the whole person, and assessing spiritual needs should be included in the total nursing assessment” (Shelley & Miller, 2006). Spiritual care is not something that should be added on as a courtesy. It is a necessity for the patient to be comfortable. One important factor with spiritual care is to keep in mind that we live in a multicultural society and our patients will often have different cultural background or belief systems than we, the caregivers, do (Anandarajah, 2005). When we see patients they are in a vulnerable point in their life, which makes it even more critical that we are sensitive to the patient’s needs and beliefs (Anandarajah, 2005).

References

Anandarajah, G. (2005, May). Doing a Culturally Sensitive Spiritual Assessment: Recognizing Spiritual Themes and Using the HOPE Questions. Retrieved from AMA Journal of Ethics: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/doing…

Shelley, J. A., & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing.Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Response three:

Spiritual care is an very important part of nursing caring for an patient. We must treat the individual as a “Whole Person” described as mind, body and spirit. Assessing for spiritual needs should be part of the nursing assessment. (Shelly& Miller, 2006)

This means this means being present, fellowship and praying with patient and family. You may be asked or you can ask if you could read Scripture to them. Try to share encouraging words of hope and grace. Maybe calling in church members of their church to visit or call. You can help them get connected with a religious community. (Shelly& Miller, 2006)

Once the spiritual needs are assessed make a spiritual care plan goal to address those issues. It could be just listening, praying or witnessing. Or it could be an actual referral to a bible study or spiritual support group for after discharge. (Shelly& Miller, 2006)

Shelly & Miller describe how I would assess and address spiritual needs of my patients. I would of course be mindful of their religion and their spiritual beliefs. Even though I’m a Christian nurse I wouldn’t mind reading from the Torah for my Jewish patient and even the Koran for a Muslim patient. Though very different religions they believe in the God of Abraham. I can share my own testimony as Christian and how God loves those who love him.

Reference:

Shelly, J. & Miller, A. (2006). Spiritual Care. Called to care: A Christian worldview for nursing (2nd Ed.). Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press