Reflective questions

Some nurses who responded to the survey said spirituality is about: “Looking after patients in a holistic manner, respecting their dignity, and treating each individual as a separate person with views of their own.”

Reflective questions:

How does spirituality help us to see people as ‘wholes’ instead of ‘parts’?
What problems might arise when you try to put this into practice? How might these be overcome?

“Spirituality is different from religion. A person can be very spiritual and have spiritual needs without belonging to a religion. Spirituality unites people, whereas religion may cause divisions and conflicts.”

Reflective questions:

• Would you agree with this statement?
• Would religious people agree with what is being said?
• Is there a danger that spirituality, in its generic sense, can become exclusive and intolerant?

“I think while some kind of spiritual support is helpful for some patients, it is not necessarily fundamental to nursing, although an awareness of a patient’s spiritual needs may help the nurse give the patient more personalised care. As in all areas of nursing, if a nurse feels unable to deal with the spiritual needs of a patient, they should refer the patient to someone who can. As an atheist I almost always find that a caring, respectful and interested attitude towards patients counts for far more than any specific religious beliefs.”

Reflective questions:

How do you think this person is thinking about spirituality?
How will their perspective impact upon their dealings with people who have specifically religious beliefs? What might they miss?
What can be learned from such a response?

“It is about a sense of personal value and meaning, a sense of being valued for who we are be that by ourselves, by others or by our God. Spirituality transcends all that each of us does or does not do; it is what is left when we strip away all material things and all matters worldly that underlying sense of who we are, how we relate to ourselves, to others and to the universe as a whole.”

Reflective questions:

What positives and negatives would you draw from this statement?
What might it mean to relate to the universe?
Is there a danger that sometimes our understandings of spirituality can be so otherworldly that they make little sense of the present situation?

“Every person is unique and should be treated with dignity and respect. They should be able to express their hopes and expectations of what has deepest meaning for them. In essence, this is recognition of the spiritual dimension of each person.” (DH, 2008 p.76)