'We need to feel that we are doing a worthwhile job'

Nursing, is about caring for others and nurses care for patients twenty four hours a day. They care for people who are not fully in control of their own lives. This type of care calls for very special skills and it takes time to develop those skills. Like most occupations it is much more than simply turning up to get paid. We need to feel that we are doing a worthwhile job. Doing a worthwhile job implies a sense of altruism. This sense of altruism makes us feel good about ourselves and puts us in touch with our own spirituality.

The spiritual experience is how it is received by the patients and if you believe that you are doing a good and caring job, that is part of your personal spirituality. You do not need to believe in spirituality to have a spiritual effect on the people you care for.

Spirituality gives a person a sense of peace and harmony within themselves. This is especially valuable in a potentially stressful job like nursing. It applies similarly to patients who face a major change in their circumstances. For example a person entering hospital as an inpatient could feel anxious, stressed, and even afraid.

When people are admitted to hospital they are assessed physically, socially, psychologically, and cognitively. This is followed by the care plan which is based on the assessment.

“If spirituality is omitted from the assessment how can it be integrated into the care?”

The anxiety and nervousness arising from entering hospital often causes the person some tension. Tension makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to connect with one’s spirituality. When we go into hospital we have to retreat from our familiar surroundings and enter an alien environment where home comforts, family, and being able to do as we please, are absent. We are surrounded by many people, all strangers to begin with, a lot of action, and unfamiliar sounds and smells.

How can we introduce spiritual care into this turmoil?

Spirituality is the ability to be able to retreat from your surroundings to a life of inner richness and spiritual freedom. To care for someone spiritually, part of the assessment must include finding out how this person’s state of mind relates to what was left behind at home. Is s/he relaxed about the circumstances s/he left the family in? Is the person confident that a responsible adult is looking after her/his interests while s/he is away? Does the person have worries that need to be alleviated and can we help in some way? It is only when we have addressed what the person has left behind that we can move on to the present and the anxieties that pertain to the reason why the person is in hospital and the hospitalisation.

The person’s attitude is one of the most important things to be considered. A positive attitude is essential to getting well and going home. Spiritual energy will possibly provide that motivation and the meaning that a person applies to the present situation.

The nurse’s duty is to enable the patient to maintain the optimal level of health, which includes addressing the patient’s anxieties and exploring if she is feeling assured. To achieve that we must try and alleviate the person’s stress. We can do this in many ways, by “being” instead of “doing”, addressing the issues, giving factual information, and having the ability to empathise.

If we look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and examine the two lowest levels of the hierarchy with the patient, we may be able to detect deficits that are not conducive to healing, and we may be able to do something about it or give reassurance that shows concern and knowledge. This is not a recipe for spirituality. It is simply how to put in place the necessary foundation for spiritual care.

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