Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example

Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example

The majority of Americans consider admitting that religion plays a key role in their lives. According to Malone and Dadswell (2019), issues of belief can impact the healthcare encounter while clients may desire to discuss spirituality with their healthcare providers. There is a need for healthcare providers to familiarize themselves with spiritual assessment tools, like the Open Invite, the FICA, HOPE questions, and the Four FACTS spiritual assessment tools if they are to overcome the barriers to carrying out this type of assessment. Consequently, this post highlights the HOPE questionnaire as the spiritual assessment tool because spirituality happens to be a significant focal point in the acute care mental health setting where I continue with my clinical course. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

Some physicians avoid the subject of spirituality due to lack of experience, time constraints, challenges recognizing patients who would want to discuss spirituality, and the mistaken belief that spiritual concerns are not within the province of a physician(Rogers –Sirin et al., 2017). Be that as it may, integration of spirituality in healthcare programs reinforces a patient’s self-assurance and leads to better patient outcomes (Vilani et al., 2019). Premised on this salient fact, I utilized the HOPE questionnaire in my case scenario patient, a 17-year-old female with a history of generalized anxiety and depression. She had received mental healthcare for over five years. Still, communication breakdown from the primary health care provider made her quit the follow-up visits until she presented in the clinic where I was learning (Estrada et al., 2019). When she admitted the importance of her religion, I undertook her intake assessment (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

H: What are your sources of hope, strength, comfort, and peace? What do you hold on to during difficult times?  

Patient: I was brought up in a religious family in a community where my mother was a church minister. I pray every day and testify that I have seen God respond to my prayers immediately and sometimes after a while.(Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

O: Do you take part in religious activities of the spiritual community? Does it help you? How?  

Patient: Besides going to church every Sunday, I attend bible studies every Thursday evening, although COVID-19 restrictions have seen the meetings being attended by only a handful of us. The members offer active support at the social, moral, and, if need be, financial level. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

P: What are your personal spiritual beliefs? Do you have aspects of your spirituality or spiritual practices that you find more helpful than others? 

Patient: I am convinced that when things are not going on as they should be, I seek refuge in prayers; in extreme cases, fasting may become necessary. Either way, I have witnessed God’s hand in my life. The Almighty always seems to dispose of anything I ask. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

E: Does your current situation affect your ability to do the things that usually help your spirituality? As your current clinician, is there anything I can do to help you access the resources that usually help you? 

Patient: I would appreciate it if this healthcare organization could provide me with a steady supply of the prescribed medications to reinforce the non-medication interventions like psychotherapy. I am optimistic that combining the two therapeutic interventions would greatly improve my condition. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

I guided the patient to incorporate her spirituality within the care plan as we discussed her early life, where Sunday school reminisces seemed to plaster a smile on her face. She reported her struggles over the past few months when she ran out of her antidepressants and acknowledged how grateful she was that we were discussing the issues troubling her (Weber& Pargament, 2014). She admitted she had been withdrawing from social meetings after school. The healthcare team comprising the preceptor, I and caseworker assisted her in completing the required paperwork Brightline health experience and Youth –adult partnership (Ross and Connors, 2018). The patient, on her part, availed her schedule and was advised on how to discontinue taking her medication once the symptoms were alleviated. After the appointment, she again reiterated that the visit was in and of itself God’s response to her prayers and she was convinced she would get better. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

References

Estrada, C. A. M., Lomboy, M. F. T. C., Gregorio, E. R., Amalia, E., Leynes, C. R., Quizon, R. R., & Kobayashi, J. (2019). Religious education can contribute to adolescent mental health in school settings. International journal of mental health systems, 13(1), 1-6. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

Malone, J., & Dadswell, A. (2018). The role of religion, spirituality, and belief in positive aging for older adults. Geriatrics, 3(2), 28. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

Rogers-Sirin, L., Yanar, C., Yüksekbaş, D., Senturk, M. I., & Sirin, S. (2017). Religiosity, cultural values, and attitudes toward seeking psychological services in Turkey. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(10), 1587-1604. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

Ross, L., & Connors, L. C. (2018). Improving youth access to mental health support through a youth-adult partnership. Journal of Youth Development, 13(3), 24-42.

Villani, D., Sorgente, A., Iannello, P., & Antonietti, A. (2019). The role of spirituality and religiosity in subjective well-being of individuals with different religious statuses. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1525. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

Weber, S. R., & Pargament, K. I. (2014). The role of religion and spirituality in mental health. Current opinion in psychiatry, 27(5), 358-363. (Spiritual Assessment-comprehensive nursing essay example)

National Center for Biotechnology Information (nih.gov)