Learning Objective #1: Enhance nursing sensitivity to meet the spiritual needs of patients

Learning Objective #2: Describe how spiritual care activities can be provided in diverse health care settings

---

This qualitative study was conducted to explicate patients' perceptions of the nurse as a provider of spiritual care. Using qualitative grounded research methodologies, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 adults over the age of 21, who were living at home and had been discharged from the hospital within the past 3 months having had at least a 5-day length of stay. Analyses were conducted using constant comparison of conceptual linkages by 8 researchers. Two conceptual categories: (1) patients' perceptions of spirituality: (2) patients' perceptions of the nurse as a provider of spiritual care, and 8 themes emerged. Patients perceived that: (1) Relationships and connectedness are important and meaningful in life; (2) Spirituality is a kinetic life force; (3) Spirituality is ever-present and varies in its intensity; (4) Spiritual beliefs stem from a philosophy of life; (5) Spiritual practices fulfill spiritual needs; (6) Spirituality strengthens coping; (7) Nurses do not offer spiritual care; and (8) Spiritual care is not a nursing role. Participants agreed that during their hospitalization nurses were kind and caring but these behaviors were not perceived as spiritual care. Study findings suggest that patients do not perceive spiritual care within the role of nursing and that they did not share their spiritual concerns with nurses. Study findings are limited by sample size. Implications for practice are that nurses' need to be aware of a patient's spiritual needs in order to provide spiritual care. How patient's spiritual needs will be met in contemporary healthcare settings is a concern for holistic nursing. Raising nurses' collective consciousness of spiritual care and how spiritual care can be provided in health care settings deserves greater attention. Research needs to be conducted on how spiritual care can become a part of the larger culture of hospitals and nursing staffs.