Incorporate Spirituality Into Care to Avoid Feelings of Disconnect

• Not considering a patient’s spirituality in healthcare settings could be detrimental from a personal and professional standpoint, some researchers have found.
• Faith community nursing is a recongized certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
• Continuing education courses on spirituality in healthcare can help bridge the gap between patient and practitioner.

Not considering a patient’s spirituality when providing care could be detrimental from a personal and professional standpoint. 

“Overlooking spirituality leaves patients feeling disconnected from the healthcare system and the clinicians trying to care for them,” said Howard Koh, the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at Harvard Chan School. “Integrating spirituality into care can help each person have a better chance of reaching complete well-being and their highest attainable standard of health.” 

Koh, a co-author of the study “Spirituality in Serious Illness and Health,” and his fellow researchers believe questions about spirituality should be included in “patient-centered, value-sensitive care.” 

And they aren’t alone. The Joint Commission includes spiritual beliefs and preferences in its standards, and institutions nationwide are incorporating whole-health practices into their curriculum or producing research that shows the significance of doing so. 

Spirituality in Healthcare Practice

Joan Sylvia Tilghman, the new dean of Coppin State University’s College of Health Professions, wants to bring the whole patient — religious beliefs and all — into the curriculum for nursing students.

“My Ph.D. is in transcultural nursing which requires the consideration of the culture of everyone, whatever that culture is,” she told Seattle Medium. “If it’s a business, if it’s a community, if it’s a religious culture, whatever it is, that’s important because it’s important to that person.” 

And just last month, Elon University in North Carolina introduced “Bridging Faith and Healing, a program that certifies students “have received training in religious literacy and faith consciousness for healthcare setting,” a university news release stated. Participants will learn about the relationship between faith and healthcare decisions; healthcare outcomes; and healthcare equity. 

“The program is important because it builds on the foundational knowledge that pre-health students receive about social determinants of health, and it challenges them to expand that view in light of current evidence-based research,” said Jeanmarie Koonts, an assistant professor of nursing who helped create the program.

OSF Healthcare, a Catholic-based skilled nursing organization, offers its own faith community nursing program, partnering with clergy and other healthcare groups “to advocate for the health and well-being of the congregation.”

Faith community nursing is a recognized certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. 

What the Research Says

A 2022 review found “significant challenges and concerns regarding the provision of spiritual care in the nursing profession,” including understaffing, inadequate working conditions, and burnout. The authors suggested incorporating world religion courses into postgraduate studies.

“Nurse Education Today” published a study in January that determined there’s a need for improved “perceptions and competencies” when it comes to spiritual care.

“Nursing educators and leaders need to emphasize both theory education in the spiritual dimension and dedication to training in spiritual care practice, as well as provide nurses with targeted teaching and training to improve their competency in addressing the spiritual needs of their patients,” the authors stated.

However, continuing education courses, like Nursing CE Central’s “Incorporating Spirituality in Patient Care,” can help bridge the current gap researchers have noted in spiritual care practices. 

The Bottom Line

The Joint Commission has included spiritual assessments in its standards of care for several years, but researchers have found that more education and understanding is needed for nurses to fully incorporate spirituality into care processes. Universities are working to bridge the gap by offering, or suggesting that, religion/spirituality coursework be incorporated into the curriculum.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center does recognize faith community nursing with a certification, but CE courses are available for those interested in learning more without achieving full certification. 

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