Abstract
BackgroundNurses have a moral obligation to ensure holistic care of patients, inclusive of the spiritual dimension. However, there seems to be a void in the teaching and learning of spiritual care in nursing curricula. Despite the South African Nursing Council being in favour of holistic nursing, there are no measures in place to ensure implementation of spiritual care, hence its practice is not standardised in nursing education in South Africa. Currently, the undergraduate nursing curriculum does not provide clear direction on how spiritual care in nursing should be integrated and the reason for this is not clear. It appears that the lack of professional regulation, difficulties in definition and the personalised nature of spiritual practice are partly responsible for the practice being barely enforced and scarcely practised by students in clinical placements. The aim of the study was to develop a practice theory for teaching–learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme.ObjectivesThe study objective was to describe and explore the students’ experiencs of teaching–learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme.MethodsA qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design with purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of undergraduate nursing students at a University in the Western Cape Province. Measures for trustworthiness were applied.ResultsThe findings indicated a need to provide support, a conducive learning environment and structure for teaching, learning and practice of spiritual care.ConclusionThere is a need for formal education regarding spiritual care in nursing.
Highlights
Despite the South African Nursing Council being in favour of holistic nursing, there are no measures in place to ensure implementation of spiritual care, its practice is not standardised in nursing education in South Africa
Literature attests to the difficulty that exists with regard to the integration of spiritual care in undergraduate nursing curricula, pointing out various reasons why there is not a golden standard for spiritual care worldwide (Baldacchino & Draper 2001; Pesut 2002:128)
This article presents only the findings from the first- to fourthyear undergraduate nursing students who participated in Focus groups (FG) interviews
Summary
Literature attests to the difficulty that exists with regard to the integration of spiritual care in undergraduate nursing curricula, pointing out various reasons why there is not a golden standard for spiritual care worldwide (Baldacchino & Draper 2001; Pesut 2002:128). Spiritual needs can be understood as the invisible or inner aspect of humanity needs, including but not limited to meaning, hope, motivation, aspirations, purpose of life and meaningful experiences (MacKinlay & Trevitt 2007). The undergraduate nursing curriculum does not provide clear direction on how spiritual care in nursing should be integrated and the reason for this is not clear. It appears that the lack of professional regulation, difficulties in definition and the personalised nature of spiritual practice are partly responsible for the practice being barely enforced and scarcely practised by students in clinical placements. The aim of the study was to develop a practice theory for teaching–learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme
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