Exploring the relationship between spiritual health and professionalism in Iranian operating room interns

Recognizing the importance of spiritual health in professional practice is crucial for providing effective patient care. This study examines the relationship between spiritual health and professionalism among Iranian operating room interns in 2024.

A cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between spiritual health and professionalism among Iranian operating room interns in 2024. A random sample of 151 students completed a three-part questionnaire assessing demographics, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) developed by Ellison (1983), and the Penn State Professionalism Questionnaire (PSPQ) developed by Black et al. (2007). Data analysis, using SPSS version 26.0, included descriptive statistics and correlation analyses.

Participants had a mean (standard deviation) age of 23.24 (6.23) years, predominantly female (67.5%), mostly in their eighth semester (64.2%), with 70.2% achieving an average grade below 18 (out of 20 points). Mean (SD) scores indicated spiritual well-being at 89.23 (18.93) and professionalism at 137.75 (15.08), with religious well-being 47.66 (10.47) exceeding existential well-being 41.57 (9.66). Among professionalism dimensions, respect (25.36 ± 3.33) and honor and integrity (23.89 ± 3.39) ranked highest, while altruism (20.97 ± 3.05) and duty (21.79 ± 3.36) were lower. A significant relationship was found between religious well-being and all professionalism dimensions, while existential well-being correlated with accountability, duty, and excellence.

The findings suggest that enhancing spiritual well-being, particularly religious aspects, may foster professionalism in medical practice, ultimately contributing to improved patient care and intern development in the healthcare setting.