Spiritual Needs Assessment

While working on my assessment tool, I intended to create a model of an offhand and sincere conversation between the nurse and the patient. Spirituality and religion constitute an intangible and subtle dimension that reaches to the core of human soul. I believe that assessing it on a similar pattern as physical health (mostly by means of testing and impersonal symptoms analysis) diminishes the value of spirituality and, consequently, reduces the positive effects of faith on physical condition. Moreover, many patients do not even recognize their spiritual needs before hospitalization and, therefore, cannot formulate and satisfy them. Such individuals need encouragement to seek love, hope, comfort, etc. from spirituality in order to accelerate their recovery.  This requires highly personified tools that invite patients to think over the ways bring peace to their soul.

The aim of my assessment was also to develop an approach that would help to reach a person who is currently in a stressed or depressed condition, unwilling to respond to inquiries. I intended to begin the conversation with the questions that are more tangible and easy to answer.  In such a way, the patient may see that the nurse is willing to be of practical use to him or her.

In many cases, people who profess or practice some religion from time to time never draw any practical spiritual help from it. Therefore, it may be useless to concentrate the nurse’s attention on the religious allegiance of the patient. Instead, one should find out what real impact a particular religion has on the person and seek to enhance it.

I practiced spiritual assessment with my friend Ann. Ann is 26 years old, she teaches musical arts at a pre-prep school. She had a first epileptic attack at the age of 12. Since then, Ann has about one seizure in a month. Once in a year she goes through medical examination at a hospital.

The use of my assessment tool helped me to get a deep understanding of how Ann feels about her disease. It has become clear to me that behind her calm and phlegmatic appearance, constant fear and anxiety lurk. Before making this assessment, I only new that she might need my help if the seizure happened. Now I see that my friend needs constant moral encouragement.

I also found out that Ann used to profess Christianity some time ago, but never applied her faith to the real life. Such belief cannot serve and a firm spiritual background for physical recovery. It is clear to me that Ann now needs to overcome he negative effects that the shallowness of the religious practices has had on her. I believe that talking to a devoted and truth-oriented Christian will help her to see that spirituality can provide real comfort and guidance in life.

I also understand that Ann views God as a person: she talks to Him and receives answers. This interaction is the most valuable spiritual practice in her life. Therefore, she must continue in the faith she already has, seeking to apply in a more profound manner.

From our conversation, I also understood that Ann needed to be a part of a community (secular or religious). Her friends are a great source of encouragement to her. However, they cannot assure her that she will be fine, whereas religion can provide such hope.

I was glad to notice how the level of Ann’s sincerity was rising with every next question. However, my inability to provide her immediate spiritual support after the assessment disappointed me. I was not ready to give her the answers she needed. I know that after our conversation Ann again began reading the Bible, listening to Christian sermons and music in the Internet. I gave her the contacts other Christian church, in case she would need to talk to a fellow-believer. Now she says that the more she hears about Jesus Christ and His power over human body and soul, the more confident she becomes.

The main barrier between Ann and me was her deep conviction that I would never understand how she felt, because I did not struggle with any chronic disease. For the reason Ann was sure that any attempts to assess her spiritual conditions were useless. In reply to this, I admitted that I was unable to know and share all her feelings.  I also explained to her that my primary desire was to help her recognize her spiritual needs herself. Then, we would work out some practical steps for growing in confidence and spiritual strength. I reminded her, that I was not asking her to rely on my assistance alone. Instead, I was inspiring her to seek more peace and hope from the God in whom she believed. I assured her that God knew what she was going through and could do much more than any human.

Because of having conducted this assessment, I grew in my conviction that there are there are two extreme points to human spirituality. A person may either have a number of far-fetched ideas about God or a higher order of universe but be unable to  apply them to his/her life, or the patient may treat religion and spirituality as a source of short-term consolation, never fully  believing it to be truth. Fruitful spirituality lies in between of these two extremes.

I also realized that the benefits of my assessment tool are that it offers practical questions that are easy to understand. The questions are open-ended, they do not impose any framework on a patient and allow him or her to lead the conversation. Of course, the assessment imparts no specific beliefs of religious traditions to the patient. It only encourages meditation on spiritual matters and helps to create an environment suitable for such meditation.