Spirituality is a subject which is often neglected in nursing education. The purpose of this study was to determine associate degree nursing faculty’s perception of their ability to teach the spiritual dimension in the delivery of nursing care. The study explored whether faculty have received training related to spiritual care, how and where nursing programs integrate spirituality education into the curriculum, nursing faculty’s understanding of the terms spirituality and spiritual care, and faculty members perception of whether they receive sufficient support and guidance in teaching related to spirituality and spiritual care. Survey research was used in this study. The participants were recruited from publicly funded associate degree nursing programs in the southeast who are accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The number of faculty participants was 206. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS,) (McSherry & Jamieson, 2011) was used to explore nursing faculties’ understanding of the terms spirituality and spiritual care. The findings showed that participants had very strong beliefs about spirituality and its intrinsic value to patients. The Spiritual Care Content Scale (SCCS; Lemmer, 2002) explored what content was taught in nursing programs, the content most often covered included (a) the influence of cultural beliefs on spiritual care (77.9%), (b) spiritual needs of the dying and their families (76.2%), (c) the assessment of spiritual needs (71.3%), and (d) active listening as a means of spiritual care (66.2%). Integration of spirituality education into the nursing curriculum was also, addressed. Not surprisingly, lecture was the main method for teaching the spiritual dimension, followed by discussions, clinical and reading assignments, nursing models, role play and guest speakers. The final question sought faculty member’s perception of whether they receive sufficient support and guidance in teaching related to spirituality and spiritual care. The majority of the faculty said no (84.1%, n=146). These findings support the literature regarding the lack of perceived training and support for nurses related to the spiritual dimension and the need for greater integration of spirituality and spiritual care in the nursing curriculum. Providing guidelines for the provision of spiritual care and continued research in this area is warranted.

Infertility is a disease that can cause psychological impairments in women, and the inability to achieve motherhood brings about cultural and social stigma. Spirituality is a protective element that may provide consolation to women experiencing infertility, yet the literature has shown that few clinicians conduct spirituality assessments or provide spiritual care to patients. The objectives of this scholarly project were to conduct an assessment to determine the needs of health care clinicians in regard to spirituality and spiritual patient care and to develop an educational module based on identified knowledge deficits. Guided by the knowledge-to-action cycle, a needs assessment was conducted in a small fertility clinic with 2 clinicians. The results of the assessment showed that the clinicians had not conducted spirituality assessments on their infertile patients and only sometimes provided spiritual care. An educational module and a posttest were developed and then validated by 3 doctorally-prepared nursing faculty members using a self-developed 10-question Likert-type evaluation scale. The materials were found to be clear, accurate, and easy to read by the nursing faculty. An implication of this scholarly project is that it will give clinicians the resources needed to create social change in health care by addressing the spirituality needs of women experiencing infertility. Future research includes a pilot study to implement the educational module with clinicians at the fertility clinic and to evaluate its effectiveness for enhancing spiritual care in practice.

The spiritual care provided by nurses is not obvious. The literature on spiritual care within the context of palliative care nursing is sparse and contradictory. None of the research is from the Canadian perspective. Thus, this project examined the meanings made by palliative care nurses as they provided spiritual care to people who were dying at home. This qualitative study utilized the methodology of the naturalistic inquiry. From a population of 47 Canadian palliative care nurses who provided home nursing in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, six nurses participated in semi-structured conversations about their experience of providing spiritual care within the context of palliative care. Three major themes emerged : the nurses' focus of spiritual care on the time surrounding the dying and the death; the nurses' beliefs about spirituality, religion, and their own work; and the nurses' evaluation of their caregiving as evidenced by the 'Good Death'. The nature of the nurses' spiritual care was of guiding, doing the unusual, relating to distress as well as relating to the one cared-for with love and friendship. The nature of the spiritual care is discussed from the perspective of caring as moral grounding and cultural imperative. Consideration is given to empowering nurses through liberating the ethic of care. What the nurses know about spiritual caregiving is looked at through the framework of the art of nursing, the nurses' beliefs about spirituality, and the hidden work of nursing. As well, the nurses' evaluation of their spiritual caregiving resulting in 'good death' and 'death with dignity' is explored. Noting incongruence between the nurses' personal beliefs and religiosity and what they want for their patients, the author offers the possibility that caregiving itself has become the religious expression of the nurses. Implications for nursing encompass the education of nurses, the practice of nursing, as well as the inclusion of nursing knowledge at the policy and budgetary levels. Nursing education must change, from talking about wholistic care, to teaching how to care for the whole person by including care of the spirit in the curriculum. Nurses who have knowledge and experience in caring for spiritual distress need to share their knowledge and start the process of mentoring other nurses into the practice of truly wholistic care. As well, nurses must become advocates and educators at the institutional and governing levels in order that human needs, including spiritual needs, are included in the decision making about health care policy and budgets / Master of Nursing (Hons)

The increased longevity in contemporary western society is impacting on many service and caring organisations in that they are needing to find ways of responding to the increasing number of older persons who need support. The Church is not immune from this as statistics demonstrate that the age demographic within the Church is rapidly changing to include many more older persons. However, evidence is strong that the Church to date has not been as alert as it could have been to the implications of the ageing population, nor has it been awake to the potential available within adult ministry. Therefore scholars and gerontologists are strident in their attempts to wake the Church from its slumber with respect to responding to the ageing population. The impetus of this research was to determine how alert the Anglican Diocese of Perth is to this rapidly increasing age demographic, and how well equipped its clergy and lay pastoral workers are to respond to the increasing number of older persons both within the Church and within society. To achieve this, a survey was conducted amongst a selection of clergy and lay pastoral workers in the Diocese of Perth. As part of the survey, comments were sought from participants on how important they believed training in ministry to older persons was for them, and what factors would enable and encourage them to attend training in this area. The literature reviewed for this research, the survey results, and the ensuing discussion combine to underline the need for ministry to older persons to be taken seriously by the Church. As a way of stimulating interest, and equipping clergy and lay pastoral workers, in the area of pastoral care of older persons, this thesis provides the structure of a training programme that it is envisaged will be offered to the Anglican Diocese of Perth.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 13, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

Thesis (M.S.C.I.T.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jun. 25, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

The overarching purpose of this study was to explore the thoughts and attitudes of hospice chaplains and music therapists (MTs) related to the questions, "Is it appropriate for music therapists to provide spiritual care as part of the hospice team," "What kind of training and preparation do music therapists and chaplains think hospice music therapists should have before engaging in spiritual care work," and "What should the content be of spiritual care training for music therapists?" The study used a sequential exploratory qualitative/quantitative mixed methods design utilizing parallel purposive subject samples to examine the research questions. The first phase of the study included semi-structured interviews with eight music therapists and seven chaplains specializing in hospice care. These interviews were designed to collect in-depth information about the research questions. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using open coding within a grounded theory approach. Thematic analysis revealed the prevalence of the categories of "ethics" and "training." Participants discussed issues related to scope of practice, cultural competence, maintaining personal boundaries, educational content, and educational methods. Analysis of the data information also indicated the need to expand the research questions, which were examined with larger participant samples in the second phase of the study. Phase II of the study included the development and implementation of a survey tool to explore the results of Phase I with a larger group of participants. The following questions were used as the basis for the survey tool: 1) How appropriate do chaplains and music therapists feel it is for music therapists to provide spiritual care as part of the hospice team? 2) What is the scope of practice for music therapists with regards to providing spiritual care as part of the hospice team? 3) How important are specific aspects of cultural competence in providing ethically sound spiritual care to hospice patients? 4) How do music therapists' music selections for addressing spiritual goals reflect culturally competent practice? 5) What are the personal boundaries that should be maintained by music therapists in order to provide ethically sound spiritual care? 6) How do music therapists feel their personal spiritual beliefs influence their interactions with patients? 7) What types of previous spiritual care training do music therapists report completing? 8) What training topics do music therapists and chaplains feel music therapists should study in order to provide competent spiritual care? 9) What types of training methods do music therapists and chaplains think are most appropriate for music therapists wanting to learn more about spiritual care? 10) What, if any, differences exist between chaplains' and music therapists' responses to these research questions? A final sample of music therapists (n=48) and chaplains (n=44) completed the survey. Results indicated that the role of music therapists includes providing spiritual care as part of the hospice team. The spiritual care scope of practice for music therapists identified by survey participants included assisting with spiritual practices, experiencing God or a higher power, assisting with meditative practices, and assisting with guided imagery experiences. According to participants, music therapists should not lead religious rituals or ceremonies, nor should they conduct spiritual assessments. Music therapists felt that all aspects of cultural competence mentioned in the survey were important, especially selecting interventions that are reflective of patients' cultural and spiritual backgrounds. This was also reflected in the ways music therapists wrote about selecting music for use in addressing spiritual goals. Participants identified specific personal boundaries that should be maintained when providing spiritual care, including avoiding pushing one's personal beliefs onto a patient or family. Music therapists expressed a variety of opinions about how their personal beliefs affected their interactions with patients. These varied from "not at all" to "allows me to be open to others." Music therapists and chaplains expressed similarly varied responses to a question about the wearing of religious symbols when providing hospice services. Questions about spiritual care training methods and content revealed that music therapists were more likely to engage in on-the-job learning, or attend continuing education and conference presentations about spiritual care. Music therapists and chaplains also wrote about learning from patients, participating in group feedback sessions, and reading materials about spiritual care as ways to learn about spiritual care provision. Differences were seen between music therapists and chaplains on their understanding of the concept of "spirituality" and "spiritual care." There were also differences between the two groups on questions of the importance of knowing one's own background as a component of cultural competence, as well as the appropriateness of music therapists providing spiritual care/counseling.

Background Spirituality is within into every person even though the spiritual experience is always individual. Well-being and happiness are related to the amount of spirituality influencingone’s life. Patients spiritual distress and needs often emerge from their experience of suffering. Acknowledging patients’ spirituality needs, and possessing skills to meet suchneeds, are crucial to provide holistic care; unmet spiritual needs can could increase patient ́s suffering. Spiritual care is included in registered nurses’ responsibility, althoughthe focus and involvement of spiritual care, depends on their personal experiences. Aim The aim was to examine registered nurses’ experiences of meeting patients’ spiritual needsin a hospital setting in Peru. Method A qualitative design was performed with semi-structured interviews. Nine registered nurses were interviewed, the collected data was analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Findings Three categories were found in the analysis; Recognition of professional responsibilities in providing spiritual care, Integrating spiritual care into clinical practice and Impact of spiritual care. The findings show how holding a holistic view impacted the delivery of spiritual care. Conclusion It is difficult to use specific strategies to meet spiritual needs since needs areindividual. Meeting spiritual needs must always be done with respect for the patients’ waysof expressing their spirituality. Being available and listening are important elements ofmeeting patients’ spiritual needs. Spiritual care is recognised as an inseparable part ofholistic care and the involvement of spiritual care is essential for patients healing.

Abstract "Man vill ibland ge svar, och så har man inte de svaren"  Sjuksköterskors föreställningar om existentiell omvårdnad, och upplevelsen av hur utbilningen rustade dem för det uppdraget.  Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka sjuksköterskors föreställningar om existentiell omvårdnad, och hur de upplevt att grundutbildningen rustat dem för den existentiella dimensionen av helhetsperspektivet som betonas inom vården. Några av de frågor som behandlas är vad begreppet existetiell omvårdnad innebär och vilket utrymme den har i praktiken. Andra frågor som uppsatsen belyser är hur grundutbildningen rustat de blivande sjuksköterskorna för den existentiella omvårdnaden och om det finns ett upplevt behov av fortbildning efter grundutbildningen. Tidigare forskning visar att existentiell omvårdnad upplevs vara ett eftersatt område, både i sjuksköterskeutbildningen och i praktiken. Denna uppsats bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex sjuksköterskor, utifrån fenemenlogisk ansats. Resultatet i studien överensstämmer i stor utsträckning med tidigare forskning. Det pekar på en samstämmighet om att helhetsperspektivet i vården betonas under utbildningenoch i praktiken, men upplevelsen är att den existentiella dimensionen ändå tenderar att få för lite utrymme. Uppsatsen belyser faktorer som bidrar till denna upplevda brist. Vidare lyfter den fram utvecklingsområden gällande existentiell omvårdnad - i utbildningskontexten och i praktiken. Den relationella pedagogiken lyfts fram som en möjlighet när det handlar om utbildning och fortbildning i existentiell omvårdnad.  Keywords: Nurse, Education, Spiritual care, Teaching, Existential care, Sjuksköterska, Utbildning, Andlig vård, Undervisning, Existentiell omvårdnad "Sometimes you want to give answers, and then you don´t have those answers..." Nurses´ideas about spiritual care, and the experience of how the education equipped them for that task.

The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of an Advanced Practice Nurse in providing spiritual and nursing care within a faith community setting. The study will describe the process of developing a Parish Nurse program using a Nurse Practitioner to offer wholistic health care to parishioners. It will also illustrate the collaborative process of developing a free health center within a faith based organization, using the Nurse Practitioner to manage the health center and deliver health care services. In order to demonstrate the need for parish nurse care, the case study used an anonymous survey to provide insight into the health status of the congregation, as well as to determine perceived needs of parishioners. Excerpts from the researcher's journal and audio-taped interviews of parishioners and key leaders within the community was used to express congregants' experiences of receiving parish nurse care, and to convey the need for a free community health center in the target population. A utilization review was conducted to demonstrate the profile of the patients who have accessed the services of the health center. The findings revealed three commons themes of parish nurse care; presence, spiritual support, and health care liaison. The study also revealed parishioners had an expedited referral process and improved patient provider relationships. Additional findings determined that the free health center was able to be operated by many of the members of the faith based organization, and was effective in managing chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Advanced Practice Nurses who are Parish Nurses have an opportunity to practice in a more wholistic manner, and offer advanced level care to parishioners and the community at large to improve health outcomes.