Teaching spirituality in nursing: a literature review

Nurse educationalists have a poor record in preparing nurses adequately for providing spiritual care. Contemporary nursing philosophy embracing holism demands that nurses learn the appropriate skills to enable them to provide care in all domains, including the spiritual. Three questions are explored within this review: what is spirituality?; what should pre-registration nursing students be taught concerning spirituality?; and how can spirituality in nursing be taught? Although sources of literature stemmed from the West, a predominantly Judeo–Christian culture, this is balanced by reference to a synopsis of world religions provided by a number of texts. Research studies included in the review consider nurses’ concepts of spirituality, nurses’ awareness of spiritual aspects of care, assessment of patients’ spiritual needs, and caring and coping strategies for nurses and patients. Some have demonstrated the need for educational input to better prepare nurses for spiritual care but none identify how this might be effectively achieved.