Spiritual Needs Assessment and Reflection
Part A: Interview.
- What are some of the things that you value in your life and believe in?
“I believe in God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is my savior and redeemer that takes me through all that I come across in life.”
- Prior to the illness, how were you going about your spirituality?
“For a good period, I have been committed to church activities until this disease came along.”
- In what manner have the faith and belief that you have lived up to impacted your behavior during the entire period which you have been ailing?
“By believing in God the Almighty, I grew firm in my faith, and I am full of hope that in the end, I will get healed and get well. I have fasted and prayed to God that in the coming days, he might heal me and get me of the current temptation in the form of illness. I am certain that when I will get to normal life, I proceed with my duty as a human being to serve God.”
- Do have any person or group of people that you consider to be vital in your life or you value them significantly?
“All of my life, I have always loved my family members as they have made me whom I am today. I have felt lonely and missed them greatly during the period I have been staying in the hospital for treatment. Since the illness set in, they have been working tirelessly round the clock to see me happy irrespective of the devastating impact of my illness. Furthermore, I am a staunch member of the church choir back home in the church. With the attachment that I developed with various members of the group, I long for such association during this period.”
- Through which means would you like me as the healthcare provider attending to you to take your issues into account?
“I have a feeling that I am not very stable enough and may not make it to recovery. At the same time, I am convinced that you as the caregiver have done the best that was planned for me and you may not do any more to avert the situation as per now. Do you think there is any more thing that you can do to make me well? I think that demanding anything from you now will be unfair and inappropriate. All the same, you can call my pastor to visit me and conduct a prayer so that I can be pardoned for my sins. I think I have talked much and I need no more questions from you.”
Part B: Analysis.
The interview was geared towards the determination of the spiritual need of a patient that I have been caring for in the last seven months in a nursing care center. She has been in the palliative care unit following a diagnosis of gastric cancer in stage IV. The patient is a white female American, 26 years old. She is Christina believer fellowshipping at the Roman Catholic Church.
What went well?
During the entire period of the interview, there existed many issues that went on well. On the basis of consent and the patient giving me the opportunity to answer my question and get into the assessment and committing herself for a good time, was a good move. The patient was attentive, keen on getting my interrogation and answering them without objection at the initial moments. In addition to the above instances, I was also able to apply empathy and listen to the patient, record all the religious options stated by the patient which are significant in guiding the future visits that the patient expects and eventually incorporate the patient’s beliefs into the nursing care plan. I also have a feeling that via the interview, the relationship between the patient and the healthcare provider. The interview can be considered to have gone well based on the fact that it seemed to be significant the patient as it allowed display of her belief in the Christianity. According to Timmins &Caldeira, (2017), the spiritual assessment goes beyond the determination of the patient spiritual needs and assist in the promotion of healing process in the instance of disease.
Barriers that impaired the interview.
I experienced time constraints since I was not able to put across all my questions as the patient objected further interrogation. Hodge, (2015) reiterates that it is critical to inform the patients the number of questions that would be answered in the interview. Moreover, it was relatively challenging in probing on the personal questions pertaining faith and beliefs since patients are always uncomfortable of disclosing such issues.
Addressing challenges as well as the various changes needed.
In future interviews, I would go through various articles and document to be knowledgeable concerning religious matters (Hodge, 2015). In doing so, I will be comfortable in questioning clients after sampling multiple feelings that people undergo when asked about their spirituality. Besides, I will allocate sufficient time to accommodate all the questions and answering sessions. I will also make the patient aware of the number of questions to expect and the period unto which the interview will last.
Tool assisting the interventions in providing patient’s needs.
The tool had the capability of identifying the effect of the disease on the spiritual status of the patient. In that process, it has enabled me to be aware of the beliefs of the patient and can make a report to the spiritual leader to provide the needed support. I can also request the choir members to whom she feels attached to visit her and give the needed support system as determined by the tool.
Effect of stress and illness on the spiritual needs
I realized that the stress and illness had hit the patient until she exaggerated the spiritual concerns. The exaggeration was evident when the patient became emotional and commenced tearing is expressing her attachment to the church choir. It was also manifested with the patient feeling that the only help that she was able to get was from God and the healthcare provider was not in any position capable of doing anything.
Conclusion
All the health care providers ought to be trained to utilize various means and tools in assessing the spiritual concerns of their patients in their process of illness. The tool is key in assisting the healthcare provider to determine the faith that the patient stands for, its significance in their lives, the support system available for the patient and role caregiver assumes in meeting patient’s needs. The spiritual assessment is vital in the provision of quality care since it utilizes the aspect of patient-centered and holistic care while nursing patients.
References
Austin, P., Macleod, R., Siddall, P., McSherry, W., & Egan, R. (2017). Spiritual care training is
needed for clinical and non-clinical staff to manage patients’ spiritual needs. Journal for
the Study of Spirituality, 7(1), 50-63.
Best, M., Butow, P., &Olver, I. (2014). Spiritual support of cancer patients and the role of the
doctor. Supportive Care in Cancer, 22(5), 1333-1339.
Hodge, D. R. (2015). Spiritual assessment in social work and mental health practice. Columbia
University Press.
Timmins, F., &Caldeira, S. (2017). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients. Nursing Standard
(2014+), 31(29), 47.
