Spirituality in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spirituality in Nursing - Essay Example The possibility of death makes a person fearful and his inclination towards spirituality grows to a great extent. Hence, spirituality plays an essential role in life of a person who is undergoing medical treatment. It has been found that the rate of recovery and attitude towards treatment is strongly affected by the spiritual and religious beliefs of a person. According to Baukhardt and Jacobson, spirituality provides meaning and inner strength to a person. Also, the introduction of the concept of alternative Eastern medicine and therapies to the Western people have changed the whole paradigm of medical treatment. People have started believing in the power of Eastern therapies and spiritual practices to heal their diseases and suffering. Moreover, it has been proved by the researches that spiritual and religious people respond more positively to medical treatment and show better outcome. The positive relation between spirituality and medical recovery has made it essential to include spirituality and religion as a part of treatment. Hence, it is essential for the nurses to understand and fulfill the spiritual needs of the client, as it not only helps in gaining the trust of the clients and building a healthy relationship with them, but also helps in curing the diseases completely, as spirituality is known to have the potential to heal the emotional and psychological problems, which are the root cause of the diseases. Definition Defining spirituality is not an easy thing as it encompasses different views, experiences and beliefs that are held sacred by different religions, cultures and traditions. According to Vink (2003), spirituality can be defined as â€Å"that aspect of every human being, rooted in our unique createdness that is on a sacred journey of completeness, sometimes seeking to connect with and trust in the divine being† (Shives, 2008, p.34). The definition shows that the need of spirituality arises from the emptiness that people feel inside th eir heart despite of having everything in their life. Moreover, this emptiness and powerlessness is felt more strongly when a person is suffering from physical or mental disease. Spiritual practices help people to feel connected with God and remove the feeling of emptiness. Hence, human elements like â€Å"love, compassion, caring, transcendence, relationship with God, and the connection of mind, boy and spirit† are used to define spirituality in the nursing literature (O’Brien, 2011, p.6). Different theories of nursing have aimed at helping the nursing professionals to assimilate spirituality in their care of the clients. However, the nursing theory that comes close to including all the spiritual aspects of caring into nursing practice is the â€Å"Theory of Human/Transpersonal Caring† by Jean Watson. Theory Of Human/ Transpersonal Care Jean Watson (1985), in her theory of nursing and spirituality, has given immense stress on importance of spirituality in the p rocess of nursing and care of a patient (Daniels, 2004, p. 1502). According o Watson, human being’s essential part is his soul and hence, if a person suffering from illness is to be healed, then connecting to a person on a level of soul is extremely important for a nurse (Daniels, 2004, p. 1502). Watson says that soul being the essence of human spirit, it provides human being with inner strength and helps him to