The Spirit Of Nursing

The Spirit of Nursing is filled with stories from more than 40 authors who have been inspired by their choice of career. Collectively, they boast 1,091 years of practice, diverse certifications, and numerous degrees. Some have just begun their practice and others have worked as nurses for half a century or more. Read how we have earned the true credentials needed to provide care for strangers, family members, and each other. Learn how we have earned the academic and honorary titles required to lead each other in our profession. The stories we have collected here cover the moment each contributor knew he or she was to become a nurse, what was learned (and what was not) in nursing school, and unforgettable patients and colleagues. But this book is about more than the sum of all of the parts that make up our nursing trajectories. It is about the process of becoming and being a nursing colleague. Filled with professionals who have earned their distinction as leaders in practice and healers in their communities, it is rumination on what it means to care. It is also a thank you to a line of work that has given us so much.

Illness and death have always raised profound spiritual concerns. However, today most people experience suffering and treatment in hospitals and other impersonal, bureaucratic facilities whose employees are expected to follow scientific, rationalized norms of behavior. How do professional caregivers—the nurses and other workers who tend to patients—navigate between science and spirituality? Don Grant investigates the subtle ways that nurses at an academic medical center incorporate spirituality into their care work. Based on extensive fieldwork and an in-depth survey on spirituality, this book finds that many nurses see themselves as responsible for not only patients’ physical health but also their spiritual well-being. They believe they are able to reconcile science and spirituality through storytelling and claim that they can provide more spiritual care than chaplains. However, nurses rarely talk about religion among themselves because they are concerned that their colleagues are uncomfortable discussing spirituality. Nevertheless, by seeking to honor patients’ ultimate worth as human beings, many nurses are able to instantiate spiritual values of care. Grant interweaves his experiences as a hospital volunteer chaplain and a living liver-transplant donor with empirical analyses of nurses’ spiritual work. Developing a new understanding of the social significance of religion, Nursing the Spirit recasts the intersection of science and spirituality by centering the perspectives of the people who provide care.

"This book explores the relationship between spirituality and the practice of nursing, providing students and professionals with invaluable insights from a variety of perspectives ... Although an effort has been made to include examples of patient needs, supported by both data and literature, relative to other religious afiliations, the overall orientation of the work is derived primarily from the Judeo-Christian tradition."--Preface.

This book provides practical guidance on many aspects of spiritual caregiving. It addresses many relevant topics including spiritual assessment, planning care, documentation, ethical concerns of sharing personal spiritual beliefs, and numerous approaches to nurturing the spirit. Presentation of religion as a positive factor influencing health and coping introduces readers to material in a manner that is sensitive to diverse spiritual beliefs. Two-tiered approach to assessment encourages readers to be empathetic listeners and identify spiritual need (first tier) and then, if necessary, follow up with more extensive assessment (second tier). Research Profiles boxed features provide readers with profiles of a research study conducted by a nurse on the topic of spirituality and health. One Nurse's Story boxed features illustrate a nurse's perspective of concepts and clinical examples of spiritual caregiving. For nursing professionals.

The official journal of the American Association for the History of Nursing

Focusing on spirituality as an inherent component of effective nursing care, this text presents an unbiased view of the nature of human spirituality apart from religion. The text offers a unique interdisciplinary and inter-religious perspective—representing a range of Eastern and Western religious traditions—while addressing lifespan considerations and belief systems within the nursing process framework. Readable, interactive chapters apply the content clinically and highlight timely research on spirituality and health. Each chapter includes case studies, critical thinking questions, and personal reflection questions. Website references are also included.