Standardized Spiritual Screening Increases Chaplain Referrals Through the EMR: A Nurse-Chaplain Collaboration for...

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Spiritual Care

Background:

• Holistic nursing care necessitates identifying and addressing patients' spiritual needs.
• Existing processes for spiritual screening and referrals may be inconsistent or insufficient.
• Interprofessional collaboration is key to developing effective patient support tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a concise, standardized spiritual screening tool for use in acute care settings.
• To improve the identification of patients with spiritual needs and increase referrals to Pastoral Services.
• To enhance the delivery of patient and family-centered care through integrated spiritual support.

Main Methods:

• An interprofessional initiative involving nurses and chaplains to develop a spiritual screening tool.
• Incorporation of empirical literature and patient data in the instrument design process.
• Integration of the screening tool and referral process within the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).

Main Results:

• The developed spiritual screening tool substantially increased referrals to Pastoral Services.
• The standardized process facilitated the identification and addressing of patients' spiritual needs.
• Nursing staff effectively utilized the tool for patient and family-centered care.

Conclusions:

• A standardized spiritual screening process is essential for effective holistic nursing care.
• The new tool and referral process represent a significant advancement in delivering spiritual support.
• Healthcare organizations are encouraged to adopt and evaluate this initiative for improved patient outcomes.