Spiritual Assessment
Meeting the needs of patients forms the daily nursing care routine. However, many nurses find it very uncomfortable going into specifics of spiritual assessment (Williams, 2016). It is significantly more difficult when patients have no clue about their spiritual preference, or whose spiritual belief is not familiar to the nurse. The most difficult questions for me in order of difficulty are:
- What is your cultural background?
- Are there any cultural or religious practices you would like to pursue while you are in our care?
- Would you like to talk to your spiritual or religious?
While the assessment is to gain data for nursing care, these questions are penetrating and the fear of offending the patient. Cultural questions are sensitive, and people may find it personal to find out their cultural background, especially when they are sick. Asking about their religious practices may be interpreted as a basis for discrimination and thus acting as a barrier to close interaction. Finally, patients practice some spiritualties. While it is indispensable to know whether they would need the same in their treatment, it is slippery because of the sensitivity to the issue.
To overcome the uneasiness, I usually use assessment tools to drive these questions. The FICA model, for instance, has so far been instrumental. F- For example, it stands for faith and beliefs, and this can be given to the patient to put in details on the same. I stand for the influence of their faith to them, while C is for the community, and whether one connects their faith to their community.
References
Williams, P. A. (2016). deWit’s Fundamental Concepts and Skills for Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.