Spiritual Care Perceptions of Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students' perception of spirituality and spiritual care as a component of holistic nursing practice. Aim: The specific aim of this study was to determine the perception levels of spiritual care, religiosity, and spirituality in first- and last-semester BSN students. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of BSN students. Participants (n = 150) completed demographics with self-reflected levels of religiosity and spirituality, the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS), and the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). Findings: First-semester and last-semester BSN students were predominately single, female, Caucasian, and Christian. First-semester BSN students completed the SCGS and SSCRS upon entrance and exit in the first semester of the nursing program with no significant differences found. However, the last-semester BSN students scored significantly higher than the first-semester BSN students on the SCGS and the SSCRS. Conclusion: Over the course of the nursing program, the last-semester BSN students gained insight into spiritual care placing a higher emphasis on spirituality and less on religiosity. This supports the threading of spiritual nursing care throughout the nursing curriculum. Further study validation is needed.