Spirituality and Practice of Nurse Practitioners
Anne Koci, Ph.D. Professor, Texas Woman's University
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are an integral part of the health care system. These advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) approach patients holistically attending to the body, mind, and spirit. Of the three, the spiritual aspect of care has received minor attention and research compared to what the body and mind have garnered. Patient-centered care recognizes the patient as a full partner in decision-making and incorporates the patient’s cultural and spiritual preferences, values, and beliefs into health care. Evidence based information needs to be available regarding NP’s knowledge of spiritual issues in practice. Spiritual assessment, an essential aspect of a comprehensive health assessment, determines the patient’s spiritual needs and/or spiritual distress. The purpose of this study is to assess the role that spirituality plays in the personal and professional lives of nurse practitioners.
Participants (n=197) were nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students from an urban metropolis in the Southwestern United States. This descriptive study consisted of self-reported data obtained using an electronic survey. This survey was adapted from a previous survey used to investigate the spiritual practices of physicians from the same region.
The sample consisted of English speaking nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students: 89% female, 27% Hispanic, 54% Caucasian, 17% African-American, 33% student NPs, 50% NPs who had graduated within the last 10 years and 17% NPs who had graduated greater than 10 years ago; 95% are satisfied with their work as a NP, 69% consider their NP role as a calling, 36% felt they have had insufficient knowledge/education regarding religious/spiritual issues in their training, 67% report that their religious/spiritual beliefs influence how they interact with their patients, 48% have no doubts about God’s existence, 2.5% are not at all spiritual, 14% are not at all religious. In the last six months 65% of the sample report engaging in private prayer and 46% report reading a sacred text. Less than 2% reported that religion/spirituality has no influence on health while 56% reports that it is generally a positive influence on health and 63% thinks God or another supernatural being intervenes in their patient’s health.
Findings suggest that overall NPs do approach patients holistically and attend to the spiritual needs of their patients, however, they feel inadequately prepared for this role. More adequate preparation needs to be incorporated in the education of NPs.
Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are an integral part of the health care system. These advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) approach patients holistically attending to the body, mind, and spirit. Of the three, the spiritual aspect of care has received minor attention and research compared to what the body and mind have garnered. Patient-centered care recognizes the patient as a full partner in decision-making and incorporates the patient’s cultural and spiritual preferences, values, and beliefs into health care. Evidence based information needs to be available regarding NP’s knowledge of spiritual issues in practice. Spiritual assessment, an essential aspect of a comprehensive health assessment, determines the patient’s spiritual needs and/or spiritual distress. The purpose of this study is to assess the role that spirituality plays in the personal and professional lives of nurse practitioners.
Participants (n=197) were nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students from an urban metropolis in the Southwestern United States. This descriptive study consisted of self-reported data obtained using an electronic survey. This survey was adapted from a previous survey used to investigate the spiritual practices of physicians from the same region.
The sample consisted of English speaking nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students: 89% female, 27% Hispanic, 54% Caucasian, 17% African-American, 33% student NPs, 50% NPs who had graduated within the last 10 years and 17% NPs who had graduated greater than 10 years ago; 95% are satisfied with their work as a NP, 69% consider their NP role as a calling, 36% felt they have had insufficient knowledge/education regarding religious/spiritual issues in their training, 67% report that their religious/spiritual beliefs influence how they interact with their patients, 48% have no doubts about God’s existence, 2.5% are not at all spiritual, 14% are not at all religious. In the last six months 65% of the sample report engaging in private prayer and 46% report reading a sacred text. Less than 2% reported that religion/spirituality has no influence on health while 56% reports that it is generally a positive influence on health and 63% thinks God or another supernatural being intervenes in their patient’s health.
Findings suggest that overall NPs do approach patients holistically and attend to the spiritual needs of their patients, however, they feel inadequately prepared for this role. More adequate preparation needs to be incorporated in the education of NPs.