Addressing the spiritual dimension in Canadian undergraduate nursing education

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which the spiritual dimension is addressed in Canadian university undergraduate nursing curricula. An exploratory descriptive design was used to gather data from faculty members at Canadian university schools of nursing. Eighteen (62%) of the 29 eligible schools participated. The findings indicate that conceptual confusion exists and that the spiritual dimension is rarely defined or included in curricular objectives. However, they also indicate that the spiritual dimension is more frequently evident in course objectives and that a number of creative methods are used to address it. Testing in this area is sporadic and limited. The results indicate that greater attention could be given to this dimension.