Spiritual Care in Patients

Spirituality believes that something is more significant than oneself, and people with good spiritual health display a positive outlook and a feeling of peace. Spiritual care in nursing is a specialized part of nursing care that deals with a person’s belief in a higher power, which inspires the individual’s hope and reverence to seek a resolution that transcends physical and conscious constraints.

Spirituality had once had a substantial impact on my family when we discovered my brother’s diagnosis (Subrata, 2020). The family found out that my brother had cancer. Life felt hopeless, meaningless, and gloomy. However, spirituality made us seek the meaning seek God’s understanding of illness, therefore, leading my family to disease acceptance. Furthermore, spirituality made my brother increase in hope and a more apparent feeling of inner peace.

I would help my patient pray when the patient asks me to, since prayer is essential to the patient’s spiritual healing, especially when he /she is distressed and frightened. The request would make me feel good since spirituality helped my family resolve our doubts and help the patient (Subrata, 2020).

Although spiritual conflict might arise when the patient is from another faith, I know that a healing-prayer is almost universally accepted no matter the religion. I won’t disappoint when a patient asks for prayer. Moreover, before praying for the patient, I would ask for the patient’s payer preference, then offers a short prayer to the patient.

An example of a spiritual blessing would be “our heavenly father, the provider of health and wholeness. We gather here to pray for our dear friend. May you offer a portion of healing so that he or she may fully recover from this illness. That’s my humble prayer, and I am trusting and believing that you God will hear us, Amen.”

Regardless of the patient’s denomination, a minute prayer may provide comfort and renewal for all patients at their critical time of need. Therefore, nurses should adopt and dedicate their time to pray and offer spiritual care to help individuals understand the meaning and purpose of their life. Spirituality is in line with better health outcomes, helping to influence end-of-life decisions and benefit patients from finding their sense of meaning.

Reference

“Spiritual Care Department.” NIH Clinical Center, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, clinicalcenter.nih.gov/participate/patientinfo/services/infoforparents/pedspirit.html.

Subrata, Sumarno Adi. “Implementation of Spiritual Care in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers: a Literature Review.” British Journal of Nursing, vol. 29, no. 15, 2020, doi:10.12968/bjon.2020.29.15.s24.

Wagner, Stephen. “Descriptions of the Afterlife from Those Who’ve Died and Come Back.” LiveAbout, www.liveabout.com/near-death-experiences-glimpses-afterlife-4076597.