Spiritual care: what does it mean to RNs?

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Qualitative Research
• Healthcare Studies

Background:

• Spiritual care is an integral component of holistic nursing.
• Understanding nurses' perspectives on spirituality is crucial for effective patient care.
• Existing literature lacks comprehensive exploration of nurses' lived experiences with spiritual care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore registered nurses' (RNs) meanings of 'spirit' and its derivatives.
• To examine RNs' perceptions of spiritual nursing and its status.
• To assess the adequacy of nursing education in preparing RNs for spiritual care.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study utilizing audio-taped interviews.
• Data collected from 20 RNs (10 hospice, 10 acute care).
• Analysis of interview responses to identify emergent themes and construct a conceptual model.

Main Results:

• Twenty-nine themes emerged from RNs' narratives regarding spiritual care.
• A model was developed illustrating the influence of practice settings and nursing education on spiritual care quality.
• Nurses' perceptions of 'spirit' and spiritual care varied based on their work environment.

Conclusions:

• Practice settings and nursing education significantly impact the quality of spiritual care provided by RNs.
• Findings highlight the need for enhanced nursing education and support for spiritual care delivery.
• Recommendations are proposed to improve spiritual care integration into nursing practice.