definition of spiritual care
1-My definition of spiritual care is being there for someone. An ear for someone to speak to. Sometimes it’s not what you say, it’s about you being there, supporting someone. Other times it might mean to offer some advice or support if they are struggling with something. My idea of spiritual care is similar to the description in chapter 14 Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing. In this chapter, spiritual care is stated as, “Sometimes spiritual care means simply being present, praying, sharing from Scripture, offering a word of witness and encouragement or participating in a healing service. At other times it may include arranging referrals, planning creative strategies for follow-up care in the home or helping a person become connected to a Christian community.” Depending on how spiritual the individual is or how appropriate the situation is, a short prayer might help someone a great deal. There might be times when you might have to get more involved in their care if needed.
Reference:
Shelly, J.A., & Miller, A.B. (2006). Called to care: A Christian worldview for nursing (2nd ed.). Downers Grove,IL: IVP Academic.
2-I think that as long as I am not harming anyone in the process of accommodating these spiritual needs than there isn’t much I can think of that I would not be willing to do.
Also, if it would result in me losing my job than I probably wouldn’t do it. I say that because I’m pretty sure I’ve done things that are not allowed or that I could technically lose my job for when accomodating someone’s needs. Examples include sneaking someone’s dog in the building before they went into a high risk surgery and going on a walk outside with someone so they could smoke a cigarette and calm down before the police arrived to take her report on an assault.
If I had lost my job for either of those things than it would 100% have been worth it.
3-This course and the discussion of spirituality and religion and how it influences our health has really had me thinking about how we spend our day. In the ER, things are a little different than on the floor as far as the time we get to spend with our patients due to quick turnover. However, the case remains the same. Sometimes all that our patients need is someone to talk to and listen to them. Occasionally we become so task oriented because we have so much to do, but slowing down and allowing our patients to feel our presence, feel comforted and not rushed can make all of the difference in how they perceive their care.
