Spirituality in Healthcare Understanding Spirituality Term Paper

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Given a society that is disenchanted with the "ideological and political aspects of religion" the answer would be to embrace the kind of spiritualism that works effectively for healthcare professionals, Pesut continues, because it rejects the social influence of religious dogma and sets the healthcare professional free to interact on a higher level with patients.

Tradition #4: In the twenty-first century, a spirituality that seems ideally suited for healthcare environments has emerged, Pesut explains (2807). The process of spiritual self-help has gained "legitimacy through wisdom traditions" and moreover, it acts to enhance a healthcare worker's "personal power and health" which in turn allows greater, more meaningful care of the patient. A nurse who is emotionally and spiritually healthy is in a better position to relate to the individual spirituality -- no matter what form it takes -- of the patient.

TWO (a). There are definite advantages to becoming familiar with patients' spirituality, and those include two insights: a) Studies show that religious convictions affect the decisions of healthcare professionals. While a Jehovah's Witness family may not want the doctor to withdraw the support of a ventilator from their dying grandfather, given that a "miracle" still could happen, a chaplain well-versed in spirituality could convince them that allowing grandfather to have "a peaceful death" and "union with God" was in itself a miracle (Puchalski, 2001, p. 354); b) a doctor led a family in prayer around the family member, and the prayer wasn't just for a miracle, but the prayer specifically asked God for strength in dealing with this person's ultimate demise (Puchalski, 354).

TWO (b). Spiritually sensitive care can be given by "listening" first to the fears and hopes and dreams of the patient; also, obtaining the spiritual history of the patient is important; involving chaplains; being "fully attentive" to the patient's spiritual beliefs; and "incorporating spiritual practices" that are appropriate to that patient (Puchalski, 355).

TWO (c). Spiritual competence cannot be achieved when a "…shallow hit-and-run approach" is employed; while it's basic to teach a nurse how to use email, that nurse may need "mentoring" in order to achieve a "holistic spiritual" competency (Raffay, 2010, p.

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607).

TWO (d). A healthcare profession can grow in his or her spirituality when: a) the mentor can model "best practice"; b) the nursing team is shown why spiritual healthcare "will make them more effective"; c) enough time is allowed for "deep change" that is needed; and d) a "whole-system approach" is taken (Raffay, 608).

THREE: In summary, healthcare professions should know by the time they graduate and are trained in their particular field that spiritually inclined patients heal faster, and that nurses and doctors should show the utmost respect for all religions -- albeit, spiritualism transcends religious dogma whether it is Jehovah's Witness or the Muslim religion. The majority of people in the world (77%) are identified as having linkage to an organized religion, so sensitivity to a patient's dogmatic beliefs is just as important as embracing spirituality with the patient.

THREE (a). From the Enlightenment, to postmodernism, through the brutal World War I and World War II, and through the industrialization of the Western world, society's view of God and of religion have evolved into what is seen today as a greater interest in spiritualism than in dogma and rules set down by organized religion. For healthcare professionals, even if they are agnostic or indifferent to the unfathomable power that is what Native Americans call the Great Spirit, their patients are not indifferent, and therein lies an important lesson to be learned: patients injured or sick will turn to their spiritual side, and that side needs to be respected and brought out in order to enhance the healing.

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