Spirituality in Nursing by Barnum - Book Report/Review Example

Running Head: PROVISION OF SPITUAL CARE BY NURSES NAME: INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION: As proposed by Barnum (2003), religion is often defined as the belief in God or gods to be worshipped, often expressed in ritual and conduct, or any particular system of worship or belief often involving a code of ethics (Barnum, 2003). Spirituality is defined as the fact or quality of being non-physical or spiritual, predominantly spiritual ways as shown in life, thought, etc. It is the tone or spiritual tendency. To explain it in brief, religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that is tends to get a person in a right relationship with the Creator, and spirituality focuses on spiritual things and the spiritual world instead of earthly things/ physical. The well known misconception about religion is the fact that Christianity is just another religion for example Islam, Catholicism, Judaism and Hinduism. However, those who claim to be adhering to Christianity do perform Christianity just like it was a religion. According to many people, Christianity is a strong set of rules and rituals that a person has to adhere to in order to see the Kingdom of God after death. That is not a true Christianity. Christianity does not involve religion in any way. It is to have a right relationship with God by accepting Jesus Christ as the personal Savior or Messiah, by grace via faith. Therefore, Christianity has rituals to observe, for example offerings, baptism or communion. Christianity has regulations and laws to follow, for example do not murder, do not steal and love one another. These rules and rituals are not the Christianity essence. The rules and rituals of Christianity are the outcomes of salvation. When people receive salvation via Jesus Christ, they get baptized as a proclamation of that faith. We thus observe communion in remembrance of sacrifice of Christ. People go as per the list of and don'ts and do’s out of love for creator and thanks-giving for what He has done (Barnum, 2003). As suggested by Barnum, (2003), the most well known misconception about spirituality is the fact that there are several forms of spirituality, and all look equally valid. Meditating in is not a usual physical positions, seeking communications with the spirit world, communing with natural creations may tend to be spiritual, but they are not real spirituality. Real spirituality has the Holy Spirit of God as a result of getting salvation via Jesus Christ. The right spirituality is the product of the Holy Spiriting a person's life (Barnum, 2003). Love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are the examples of the fruits of Holy Spirit. Spirituality stresses how to become more like God, who is spirit and possessing our character conformed to His own image. What spirituality and religion have in common is the fact that both can be false ways of having a strong relationship with God. Religion seems to substitute the heartless observance of rituals for a real relationship with God. Spirituality also seems to substitute kinks with the spirit world for a real relationship with God. Both can spirituality and religion can be, and always are, false ways to God. In the other hand, religion can be more valuable because it points out the fact that there is a God and that we are somehow accountable to Him. The only right value of religion is its ability to show us the fact that we have fallen short and that we require a Savior. Spirituality can be valuable in that it explains the fact that the physical world is not all there is. Human beings are not just the material, but also contain a soul-spirit (Barnum, 2003). There is a spiritual world within us of which we should develop a strong awareness. The real value of spirituality is that it states the fact that there is someone and something beyond this physical world to which we require to link. As proposed by Barnum, (2003), the provision of spiritual care for the culturally diverse population is purely the therapeutic use of self. Providers must have a willing heart of engaging self in this task while recognizing that spiritual care should be individual/family led, instead of provider directed. Providers themselves need to peculiarly understand where their own spiritual needs start and stop and where their family or individual needs begin. Skills of observing, listening and presence are inherent in nursing and support spiritual care (Barnum, 2003). Spiritual care should be purposeful like other nursing care. However, it does not always require formal planning. If a provider is present and sensitive to an individual’s or family cues, then spiritual care always happen purposefully and spontaneously during that unique individual and family situation in a culturally diverse population. Therapeutic use of the nursing process is required to address spiritual care needs, as with all nursing care. Nowadays, healthcare environment is quite challenging for the nurse and spiritual care providers, with a heavy individual and family load and little time, to distinguish spiritual care needs. Therefore, nurses and spiritual care providers requires the ability to do a succinct spiritual assessment by asking just a few questions. Not every family or individual encounter will necessitate nor warrant a complex, formal spiritual assessment with a detailed care plan. However, every individual or family needs the nurse’s or provider’s willingness to be present and respond to spiritual needs accordingly, whether expressed verbally or written. The individual or family should set the direction for spiritual care in a culturally diverse population and should freely give permission for any interventions. Individuals and families in a diverse population need to feel safe in expressing their spiritual concerns and concerns (Barnum, 2003). Patients or families will generally reflect their worldviews and the corresponding role of spirituality in their lives through information collected during assessments or requests for specific spiritual care interventions. It is important to determine who is best suited to get the individual/family or patient’s spiritual needs. However, the best care can be provided when the nurse or provider and the patient or individual have the same worldview, with like spiritual beliefs and values. As proposed by Barnum, (2003), good examples include a Christian nurse praying with a Christian patient or an individual, or a Jewish nurse or care provider supporting the worship needs of a Jewish patient. In the real world that often does not happen. Care providers and families/individual come from all cultures and have varied spiritual beliefs. Nurses and spiritual care providers must decide upon the most ethical and culturally sensitive way to provide spiritual care when the individual and providers have differing spiritual perspectives or worldviews. Most important is that both the individual and the provider are treated respectfully and recognize that everyone has a right to embrace his or her own individual spiritual beliefs. Spirituality in the context of health is reemerging in professional and public arenas as a vital and essential component of heath. It is evidence from the national as well as well as local setups; nurses are highly expected to incorporate the spiritual ways within their care. As spirituality is also seen as an innate, integral dimension of every human being, to nurse the entire customer we should also nurse the spirit (Barnum, 2003). Nursing literature has addresses the topic of spirituality basically in conceptual and theoretical terms, and its inability to give practical guidance to enhance the provision of spiritual care has formed a gap in our nursing knowledge. This objective of the text is to fill this gap by providing practical guidance on various aspects of spiritual care-giving. However, practice must be supported by research and theory. The practice proposals given in various books follow from research and theory in nursing as well as many other related disciplines. The spirituality expression, religion also is always a bridge to revealing spirituality. Various nurses profess a religious orientation, which can support awareness of and sensitivity to customer spiritual needs. The religious background of the nurses can in some cases also form bias that can corrupt the effective care. This message supports the nurse to recognize that personal beliefs influence care and to establish and sustain awareness of personal beliefs for it to enhance the effectiveness and strength of spiritual care. This message also embraces the position that nurses will derive significant advantages from engaging in tasks that promote their own spiritual health. As stated by Barnum, (2003), the way scientific study is affected by the context under which it is undertaken, various books’ approach will be affected by the worldviews of their authors. Most authors wrote this books trying to state clearly the ways in which nurses can enhance the deliverance of spiritual needs to patients and families (Barnum, 2003). For various clients, assessment will show some manifestation of spiritual needs or the opportunity to enhance spiritual well being. These customers will have an advantage from nursing care that incorporates spiritual care intervention. This text presents wide approaches and number of spiritual care interventions that nurses can select so as to address customer needs. As with other regions of nursing practice, a nurse’s ability to offer effective care will improve with exercise and practice. In conclusion, nurses are expected to offer spiritual care; and they should first understand how a person’s worldview relates to his or her personal spirituality concept. References Barnum, B. S. (2003). Spirituality in nursing: From traditional to new age (2nd ed.). New York: Springer. Read More