Spiritual care is the nurse connecting with the individual on a level not specifically religious, but one where the nurse and the patient touch each other; however, not physically, in a trusting and safe environment to allow a patient to explore and work through deep thoughts and feelings where a nurse will listen responsively. The nurse can then provide the patient the opportunity to reflect upon his/her joys, sadness, conflicts. This connections is a wonderful spiritual growth experience for the patient and the nurse.

charlita said:

this is all part of nursing-the trust between a patient and his nurse and the caring attitude of the nurse toward the patient. Nursing can be a wonderful experience. It can also be stressful and heartbreaking. It takes a certain type of person to go into nursing.God couldn't be everywhere, so he created nurses!

Funny thing is that I use my sister allot to practice my rapid trauma assessment & detailed exam, ect..., my nephew is so cute holding c-spine, he can now bag with his elbow, hold c-spine with his knees and hold the BVM mask in place with his little two hands (guess what he wants to do when he grows up?), he really takes his job serious. Anyway, my sister has gotten allot of first hand experience, though just in pretend, confidence is transferable, the opposite is also true, I can be judge by a patient personal experience of his contact with another medical staff member. Like I said before, we are intra-connected.

Spirituality in nursing means this to me. It means acceptance, not tolerance. Acceptance of someone's differences, acceptance of their choices, regardless of what personal religious beliefs are. Acceptance of their life style, way of life, their preferences in life. If you can not give care, joyfully, completely and totally, then you simply do not belong in healthcare. We are to make decisions, judgements in care, but not judgements in life styles. We as nurses must stand back and away, accepting differences and choices, while giving understanding, offer our hearts, while sometimes being rejected. Nursing is a personal profession.

It is my profound belief that we are all spiritual beings sharing human experiences and not shame based humans sharing occasional spiritual experiences. Further, that within th e context of our human experience: that everyone is doing the best they can with the wisdom, knowledge and experience that they have at the time.
I believe that at the microcellular level we are all one.... further, that as spiritual beings we are one with our creator and as such The Divine Love Force formerly known as God, is everywhere and in everything, including us.
I believe that we are, each of us, Co Creators of our existence...by virtue of free will which is big in the universe. Further, that we are the only authority in our minds for our thoughts, which create our feelings, influence our actions and pretty much make up our destinies.

I profoundly believe that Love is all that matters, in all its many forms. Love does not care what you call it... kindness, compassion, gentleness, peacefulness, justice, mercy, forgiveness, speaking up for oneself, speaking up for those who have no voice.

I believe that as spiritual beings our innermost nature is love, further that as infants we come into this life having had soul plans and contracts with the people we are born to and with whom we willl interact significantly with in our lifetimes, whether that be for a lifetime or a significant moment. As souls prior to life as we know adventures are planned to live through and participants volunteer to play roles.... be they comedic, dramatic, tragic, or supportive, or any role you can imagine. Synchronicity is huge... how we all impact on each other and all those things falling into place ....
I believe we are all coming from love or fear in every given moment of our lives and we have incredible gift of choice to choose our persepective.. in every moment. I believe that the point of power is in the present moment.
Now is the only time there is. Pain, grief, depression, guiltand other form of fear disappear whe the mind is focused on loving peace in this instant. now this one, etc.

All of this is words... conveyed to impart my beliefs.. some things that I believe that is, there are more.. (smile.)

What i am getting at is that they are just words strung together and spoken with conviction, they are knowledge... none of which matters as much as imagination.. and even more so.....

The EXPERIENCE of love and peace is the only thing of importance that is communicated. It is this attitude of the heart and not what is said between two or more people that does healing work in both directions.

This speaks of universal experience and is present in a far reaching capacity, putting a line in you can come from love, from a deep desire to access this beloved souls human meat suit to re establish equilibrium within its relatively fragile boundaries. (Love is eternal our bodies are not so much eternal... we can nourish them physically mentally, emotionally and yes, spiritually as well.) Visualizing all being well with that client, visualizing the vein, the bodys pathways... feeling sure about introducing your help and love in the form of a cannula... willl increase the probability of success immeasurably then being anxious about the quality of the vessel, the nebulous skill inherent and the reaction of the human client which is based as much on past experience as iit is on the present moment in many cases. In putting in a line, as in many nursing procedures and things that we do in all aspects of life, --focusing on the love in it , you get through it much easier. Some people see this faster in confidence breeding success.... Love doesnt care what you call it... and love is all that matters.

This is in addition to love being eternal robbing death of its sting, additonally my belief that the universe is far too ecology minded to not have included reincarnation as part of its master plan... my belief is that we have soul groups we travel with in many roles through many lifetimes, this I pretty much keep to myself unless I think a dear soul, would find that comforting...
That is some of my view of how Spirituality interacts with NURSING. I am sure you can draw correlations all over the place to all aspects of nursining care. Holistically. HUGS!
Light and Love to all of you .
Luanna