The Concept of Spirituality

Running head: NURSING, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTHCARE
NURSING, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction
The concept of spirituality has undergone frequent transformation across centuries and
currently implies the importance of subjective experiences rather than merely implying religious
belief (Timmins & Caldeira, 2017). The following paper will briefly discuss on person
perceptions of spirituality, influence in nursing practice and personal views on healing and
disease.
Discussion
Task 1
According to my worldview and personal understanding, ‘spirituality’ implies a sense of
interconnectedness any phenomenon which may seem to be scared to an individual or any
experience which may seem to instill a deeper sense of meaning, feelings of peace and aliveness
for a person. I believe spirituality is highly subjective and personal for any individual. While
some individuals may attach spirituality to a religious institution or religion, others may find
spirituality by attaching their life’s strength or purpose to a higher sense of being or power.
Indeed, the meaning of spirituality has indeed evolved and expanded since the last few centuries.
While the term initially emerged to imply the practice of dedicating one’s life to religion or the
‘Holy Spirit’, the meaning of spirituality, at present, now broadly encompasses religious
practices as well as subjective experiences of an otherworldly or sacred nature (Ross et al.,
2018).
Thus, a key aspect which is central to my personal meaning, worldview and concept of
spirituality is the emphasis on person-centeredness or personhood. Modern day spirituality, as
evident in my above personal understanding, is highly subjective in nature. Since spirituality can

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mean different concepts to different individuals, it is thus the duty and responsibility of the nurse
to actively practice patient centeredness in his or her nursing practice. This means that in
addition to actively encouraging the patient to share his or her opinions in the clinical decision-
making process, a nurse must also inquire and understanding the patient’s sense of spirituality
followed by incorporating and respecting the same in the associated clinical interventions and
care plan (Weathers, McCarthy & Coffey, 2016). Thus, since my concept of spirituality is
extensively centered on person-centered care, it is likely that the same will influence me to
actively incorporate patient centered approached to my personal values and professional nursing
practice. Thus, considering the same, not only will I base my clinical interventions on a patient’s
personal preferences, culture and consent, I will also ask and empathize with his or her sense of
spirituality and incorporate the same in my care plan. Such a nursing influence will thus ensure
that my care plan interventions assist a patient to achieve positive health outcomes and sense of
spiritual wellbeing (Timmins & Caldeira, 2017).
Task 2
One of the key readings which I found interesting, were biblical writings and principles
expounding the need to view an individual as not a living or biological entity but as a temple or
abode of God or the ‘Holy Spirit’ (Cor 6:19). For this reason, as per my personal analysis and as
led by the earliest nursing practices by theorists like Florence Nightingale, nursing has been
traditionally viewed as a practice of care, compassion and welfare (Schaffer, Sandau & Missal,
2017). However, due to the extensive emphasis on evidence-based practice, I believe nursing is
currently overlooking the importance of personhood and focusing excessively on only science
and research as the crux of healing. It is thus recommended that nurses practice a combination of

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both evidence-based practice as well as traditional nursing principles of holistic care so as to
ensure positive sense of spiritual wellbeing in the patient (Chen et al., 2017).
Conclusion
This paper thus provides a succinct yet detailed discussion on personal perceptions of
spirituality, healing, disease and their influence in nursing practice. To conclude, in addition to
necessitating evidence-based practice, nurses must also incorporate traditional values of patient
centeredness and holistic care for holistic nursing practice.

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Reference
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Schaffer, M. A., Sandau, K., & Missal, B. (2017). Demystifying nursing theory: A Christian
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