Spiritual Assessment

Questions Asked (use bullet points)

Interviewee Responses (use bullet points)

S

· Do you have a formal religion?

· Source of strength/hope/comfort?

· Any spiritual practices?

P

· Describe your spiritual beliefs/practices

· Describe beliefs/practices you don't accept

· Comfort methods in pain/fear

· How is spirituality meaningful in daily life?

I

· Do you belong to religious community?

· How important is a spiritual community?

R

· Lifestyle activities practices encouraged/discouraged by religion.

I

· Any nursing cares forbidden by religion?

· Anyone you want to include in your care?

T

· Are there important spiritual practices regarding end-of-life care?

S

· No, consider self agnostic.

· Family, my own morals, the desire to be good to others.

· Yoga feels spiritual, because it makes me feel strong and calm.

P

· It's our duty to take care of each other and the earth, cause no harm to others, take care of ourselves, raise children to be good people.

· Don't accept judging others, causing physical/mental harm, being greedy.

· For comfort, I rely on my own strength (when able), otherwise, family and friends. In pain, I use yoga/breathing practices.

· It makes me think about my daily actions, how I am treating people, always. I exercise to make sure I take care of myself.

I

· I have no spiritual community. Most people I know believe in God, I don't.

· I was raised Catholic and miss this part about religion.

R

· No religion guides my lifestyle practices. I still observe religious holidays (Xmas, Easter) because it's fun and for my kids.

I

· Can't foresee any cares that would be affected by spiritual practices.

· Would just include family/close friends in care.

T

· I am concerned about how someone who doesn't believe in God has a funeral. I've never been to a non-religious one.

· I am scared that I'll be dying some day and terrified without the comfort of a Heaven waiting for me.

Nursing Action(s)-use bullet points

Why Chosen-use bullet points

· Recommend finding a community of like-minded, spiritual people, suggest looking for Humanist organization to join to help with this.

· Suggest speaking to spiritual counselor if hospitalized, or informally at work (they are readily available).

· Community is something she misses, it would provide an extra source of support. Humanism aligns closely with JV's beliefs.

· Spiritual counselors at our facility meet with all religions, including atheists/agnostics. They could discuss end-of-life ceremony options for Agnostics, help JV find deeper understanding of her spirituality.

Result of Nursing Action: Interviewee thoughts/reactions use bullet points

Your own thoughts/take-aways-use bullet points

· JV is aware of Humanism as an organization and agrees that she would benefit from a larger community of like-minded people.

· Her desire is for a close community like you'd get with a church, but without the religious/God aspect.

· She likes the idea of talking to one of our spiritual counselors about end-of-life rituals and how to find comfort in her last days.

· She thinks she is very likely to have an informal chat with one of the rounding pastors.

· Whatever a person's religion/spirituality, there are likely to be concerns that need to be addressed.

· The RN should not assume that, because a patient isn't "religious", that they don't have spiritual distress.

· Seemingly minor things can help with spiritual distress (ex: yoga and breathing, in JV's case, help with pain/fear)