Learning Objective #1: Identify and explain the processes, sub-processes, and qualities of the Model for Spiritual Nursing Care

Learning Objective #2: Identify specific ways in which the Model for Spiritual Nursing Care can inform nursing practice and research

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Purpose: On an international scale, nurses embrace the notion of holistic care, including care of the human spirit. Indeed, many authors suggest that spiritual care is the cornerstone of holistic nursing practice. However, recent research suggests that a significant number of nurses do not view themselves as skilled spiritual caregivers, and that they rarely attend to this dimension of practice. One explanation offered for this fundamental contradiction is the ambiguity that currently exists in the literature regarding the meaning and essence of spiritual nursing care. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore from multiple perspectives the meaning and experience of spiritual nursing care in the context of a Western healthcare system. Design and Methods: In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted in an oncology care setting with 29 individuals representing the multiple perspectives of nurses, patients, patient family members, hospital chaplains, and hospital administrators. Their stories were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. Findings and Synthesis: A Model for Spiritual Nursing Care emerged as a result of this analysis. This model reflects the fundamental finding that spiritual nursing care is about developing caring relationships through fostering connections, in order to promote spiritual comfort and wellbeing. This model includes two central processes: developing caring relationships and fostering connections; three related sub-processes: expressing our X-factor, exchanging healing energy, and honoring the sacred and the transcendent; and four essential human qualities: receptivity, humanity, competency, and positivity. This model and its various components not only offer clarity and understanding, but also capture the diffuse and amorphous nature of spiritual nursing care. The model also portrays spiritual nursing care as a complex social process involving mutual exchange, rather than as a simple list of nursing interventions. When understood this way, it is likely that spiritual nursing care occurs with greater frequency than research currently suggests.