Promoting Spiritual Knowledge and Attitudes

PURPOSE: The spiritual dimension of holistic nursing is an area that has been neglected within nursing education. The purpose of this project was to develop and test a spirituality-focused nursing student education project designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of spiritual care among nursing students. The researchers anticipated that the pilot program would result in a spiritually focused clinical experience that could be permanently implemented in the course and integrated throughout other clinical courses in the curriculum. METHODS: The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) was used to measure students' knowledge and understanding of spirituality and spiritual care. Following the administration of the pretest, a set of educational strategies was implemented to promote the spiritual knowledge and attitudes of nursing students. Examples of strategies used included a half-day educational presentation as well as the incorporation of presence, prayer, reminiscence, and chapel visits into resident care. RESULTS: Significant differences were seen between student total pretest and posttest scores on the SSCRS (t = -2.893, P = .018) as well as individual instrument items when compared before and after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This pilot project focused on a spirituality-focused nursing student education project designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of spiritual care among nursing students. Results indicated that the pilot program was beneficial and should be disseminated more widely.