The value of prayer in modern-day nursing

Of all the qualities a nurse should possess, perhaps the most important is compassion, particularly when nursing the critically ill and dying. It is not easy to define compassion. Sogyal Rinpoche (1992), a Tibetan monk, sums up what I personally feel is meant by compassion: ‘It is not simply a sense of sympathy or caring for the person suffering, not simply a warmth of heart toward the person before you, or a sharp clarity of recognition of their needs and pain, it is also a sustained and practical determination to do whatever is possible and necessary to help alleviate their suffering.’