Describing undergraduate nurses’ student vision of spirituality as well as their perception of the nurse’s role in this dimension

Abstract

In North American society people have diverse cultural and religious affiliations. The nursing profession underlines the importance of including patients’ spirituality in giving holistic care. However, studies suggest that the majority of nurses do not include the spiritual dimension on a regular basis. Therefore, we thought it important to focus on undergraduate nurses’ understanding of spirituality as well as on their perception of the nurse’s role in this area. We conducted a quantitative and descriptive cross-sectional study, which gave us an overall view of the students’ perceptions. Three hundred and forty-five students answered an online survey which included French translations of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and the Students Survey of Spiritual Care. Analysis of the results indicated that the students’ perception of spirituality is a contemporary one. The majority agree that nurses should include spirituality in their care but do not feel equipped to do so adequately. A comparative analysis showed that the students’ answers differed significantly depending on their cultural affiliation as well as on their affiliation or not with a religion. Recommendations for teaching purposes will also be presented.