To be sure we are caring for the entire needs of the attain, we must include a spiritual assessment to make sure the wishes and desires of the patient and family are being met in order for the patient to heal from their illness. To address our own spiritual needs we must be honest and open with ourselves as to what is important to us spiritually. Exploring your own spiritual side may be helpful to deliver the care necessary to your patients and leave room so you can be open to whatever it is that your patient’s spiritual needs may be.
This may also be important so you can understand what your own beliefs and preferences are so you don’t impose Hess on your patients. You may find that there are certain things you choose to do for your faith in order to stay spiritual. My family chooses to worship together on Sunday mornings in church. We have always done so and now that we are all married, we meet on Sundays and worship together. It brings us all together and I feel at peace when my family is together.
When taking care of your patients it is necessary to have an understanding of what it is that they believe and what will help them in their healing process. Many patients become stressed when hospitalized and seek comfort in having their virtual needs addressed. This is when it is important to ask those questions and have the knowledge of what you can do to make your patients as comfortable as possible. Many times patients will ask to see their pastor or want to make a trip to the chapel. Some may just want a quiet place to worship or will find comfort in having a Bible at the bedside.
It may be important for your patient to be involved in prayer or meditation in which you may wish to include yourself or not depending on how comfortable you are. Patients like to include their health care providers in their prayer as they live it helps to bring peace to their healing. When a person becomes ill, it often affects the family as well (GUCCI lecture notes, 2011). By asking the patient and family of their spiritual wishes, this allows us to gain a better understanding of who are patient is and what they need while under our care. Addressing and supporting patients’ spirituality can not only make their health care experiences more positive, but in many cases can promote health, decrease depression, help patients cope with a difficult illness, and even improve outcomes for some patients” (The Joint Commission, 2005). A Emily may have certain ceremonies or ways in which they pray together so it is up to the health care provider to allow this and accommodate them to the best of our ability.