Although spirituality is a difficult concept to define, supporting patients' individual spiritual needs may help them to cope with their illnesses. Despite spirituality being an important aspect of patient care, few nurses feel they meet patients' needs in this area.
I feel like many of the nurses I work with are afraid to discuss the patient's spirituality with them. Maybe it's because they don't have a full grasp on their own spirituality. A study of 4,000 nurses identified that meeting patients' spiritual needs is enormously important and improves overall quality of nursing care. However, only 5% felt they achieved this goal (Funning, 2010).
I found this fact interesting: a study of 230 patients from varied ethnic backgrounds with advanced cancer, found 72% felt their spiritual needs were not or only minimally supported by healthcare systems (Balboni et al, 2007). Mosby's (2005) Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine defined spirituality as: "An individual's quest for understanding the true meaning of life and the desire to integrate with the transcendent or sacred.
May or may not arise from or lead to community formation or ritual observance." I think my idea of spiritual care lines up very well with our readings. I especially agree with the statement in our readings (Shelly & Miller, 2013) "nurses intervene to promote health, prevent illness, or assist with activities that contribute to recovery from illness or to achieving a peaceful death." We are to provide care for the ENTIRE patient, not just the physical part
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