chapter 35 : spiritual health Flashcards
A co-worker asks the nurse to explain spirituality. What is the nurse’s best response?
a. It has a minor effect on health.
b. It is awareness of one’s inner self.
c. It is not as essential as physical needs.
d. It refers to fire or giving of life to a person.
b. It is awareness of one’s inner self.
Spirituality is often defined as an awareness of one’s inner self and a sense of connection to a higher being, to nature, or to some purpose greater than oneself. Spirituality is an important factor that helps individuals achieve the balance needed to maintain health and well-being and to cope with illness. Florence Nightingale believed that spirituality was a force that provided energy needed to promote a healthy hospital environment and that caring for a person’s spiritual needs was just as essential as caring for his or her physical needs. The word spirituality comes from the Latin word spiritus, which refers to breath or wind. The spirit gives life to a person.
The nurse is caring for a patient who is professes to being an agnostic. Which information should the nurse consider when planning care for this patient belief system?
a. The patient is devoid of spirituality.
b. Is certain there is no such entity as God.
c. Believes there is no known ultimate reality.
d. Finds no meaning through relationship with others.
c. Believes there is no known ultimate reality.
Some people do not believe in the existence of God (atheist), or they believe that there is no known ultimate reality (agnostic). Nonetheless, spirituality is important regardless of a person’s religious beliefs. Agnostics discover meaning in what they do or how they live because they find no ultimate meaning for the way things are. They believe that people bring meaning to what they do.
The nurse is caring for an Islamic patient who wants to pray. Which intervention is most appropriate?
a. Postponing their bath until after they are finished praying
b. Offering to turn on their music in preparation for prayer
c. Ask their roommate to leave while they pray
d. Set aside time for their praying 3 times a day
b. Offering to turn on their music in preparation for prayer
A patient who is a follower of Islam will want to say daily prayers (Salah) five times a day. Patients pray in private or participate in group prayer with family, friends, or clergy. Muslims must be clean before they pray, so offer hygiene measures according to Islam practices. Some pray while listening to music.
A nurse is teaching a patient how to meditate. Which behavior presented by the patient indicates effective learning?
a. Lying on the floor
b. Breathing quickly
c. Focusing on an particular image
d. Engaging for 10 minutes every day
c. Focusing on an particular image
The steps of meditation include sitting in a comfortable position with the back straight; breathe slowly; and focus on a sound, prayer, or image. Meditation should occur for 10 to 20 minutes twice a day.
The nurse is admitting a patient to the hospital. The patient claims to be a very spiritual person but does not practice any specific religion. How will the nurse interpret this finding?
a. This indicates a strong religious affiliation.
b. This statement is contradictory.
c. This statement is reasonable.
d. This indicates a lack of hope.
c. This statement is reasonable.
The patient’s statement is reasonable and is not contradictory. Many people tend to use the terms spirituality and religion interchangeably. Although closely associated, these terms are not synonymous. Religious practices encompass spirituality, but spirituality does not need to include religious practice. When a person has the attitude of something to live for and look forward to, hope is present.
Which patient comment should the nurse identify as a demonstration of faith?
a. I go to church every Sunday.
b. I believe there is life after death.
c. I have something to look forward to each day.
d. I get a feeling of awe when looking at the sunset
b. I believe there is life after death.
Faith allows people to have firm beliefs despite lack of physical evidence (life after death). Religion refers to the system of organized beliefs and worship that a person practices to outwardly express spirituality (go to church). When a person has the attitude of something to live for and look forward to, hope is present (look forward to each day). Self-transcendence is the belief that there is a force outside of and greater than the person (awe when looking at a sunset).
A nurse is caring for a Roman Catholic patient. Which action will the nurse plan time for?
a. Practice the Five Pillars
b. Practice Blessingway
c. Avoiding meat on Fridays
d. The purity rituals
c. Avoiding meat on Fridays
Fasting on Fridays is practiced by some Roman Catholics. Hindus practice prayer and purity rituals. Blessingway is a practice of the Navajos that attempts to remove ill health by means of stories, songs, rituals, prayers, symbols, and sand paintings. Islams must be able to practice the Five Pillars of Islam.
The nurse is caring for a patient with a chronic illness who is having conflicts with beliefs. Which health care team member will the nurse ask to see this patient?
a. The clergy
b. A psychiatrist
c. A social worker
d. An occupational therapist
a. The clergy
Other important resources to patients are spiritual advisors and members of the clergy. Spiritual care helps people identify meaning and purpose in life, look beyond the present, and maintain personal relationships, as well as a relationship with a higher being or life force. A psychiatrist is for emotional health. A social worker focuses on social, financial, and community resources. An occupational therapist provides care with vocational issues and functioning within physical limitations.
The nurse caring for a terminally ill patient sits down and lightly touches the patient’s hand. Which technique is the nurse using?
a. Doing for
b. Establishing presence
c. Offering transcendence
d. Providing health promotion
b. Establishing presence
Establishing presence by sitting with a patient to attentively listen to his or her feelings and situation, talking with the patient, crying with the patient, and simply offering time are powerful spiritual care approaches. Benner explains that presence involves ―being with‖ a patient versus ―doing for‖ a patient. Transcendence is the belief that a force outside of and greater than the person exists beyond the material world. In settings where health promotion activities occur, patients often need information, counseling, and guidance to make the necessary choices to remain healthy.
The nurse and the patient have the same religious affiliation. Which action will the nurse take to support the patient spiritually?
a. Must use a formal assessment tool to determine patient’s beliefs.
b. Assume that both have the same spiritual beliefs.
c. Do not impose personal values on the patient.
d. Skip the spiritual belief assessment
c. Do not impose personal values on the patient.
It is important not to impose personal value systems on the patient. This is particularly true when the patient’s values and beliefs are similar to those of the nurse because it then becomes very easy to make false assumptions. It is not a must to use a formal assessment tool when assessing a patient’s beliefs. It is important to conduct the spiritual belief assessment; conducting an assessment is therapeutic because it expresses a level of caring and support.
A nurse makes a connection with the patient when providing spiritual care. Which type of connectedness did the nurse experience?
a. Intrapersonal
b. Interpersonal
c. Transpersonal
d. Multipersonal
b. Interpersonal
Interpersonal means connected with others and the environment. Intrapersonal means connected within oneself. Transpersonal means connected with God or an unseen higher power. There is no such term as multipersonal for connectedness.
The patient is admitted with a diagnosis of chronic anxiety. Which action is most appropriate for the nurse to take when providing holistic care?
a. Focusing on finding quick remedies for the anxiety
b. Realizing that the patient’s only goal is relief of the anxiety
c. Looking at how worry influences the patient’s ability to function
d. Helping the patient realize that there is little hope of relief from anxiety
c. Looking at how worry influences the patient’s ability to function
Do not just look at the patient’s anxiety as a problem to solve with quick remedies, but rather look at how the anxiety influences the patient’s ability to function and achieve goals established in life (not just anxiety relief). Mobilizing the patient’s hope is central to a healing relationship.
In caring for the patient’s spiritual needs, the nurse asks 20 questions to assess the patient’s relationship with God and a sense of life purpose and satisfaction. Which method is the nurse using?
a. The spiritual well-being scale
b. The FICA assessment tool
c. Belief tool
d. Hope scale
a. The spiritual well-being scale
The spiritual well-being scale (SWB) has 20 questions that assess a patient’s relationship with God and his or her sense of life purpose and life satisfaction. The FICA assessment tool evaluates spirituality and is closely correlated to quality of life. This does not describe belief or hope.
A male patient in stable condition is in the intensive care unit (ICU) and is asking to see his spouse and two daughters. What should the nurse be prepared to plan for?
a. 5 to 10 minutes for the family visit
b. Complying with the patient’s request
c. Arranging for the two daughters to visit, then the wife d. Asking the family to decide which two persons will visit
b. Complying with the patient’s request
Use of support systems is important in any health care setting. Allowing the family to visit is appropriate since the patient is in stable condition. When patients depend on family and friends for support, encourage them to visit the patient. As long as no interference with active patient care is involved, there is no reason to limit visitation. Limiting the visit is not necessary since the patient is stable. Breaking the family apart is not needed; the patient is stable and can see all three at once.
The nurse is caring for a patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The patient states, ―I just don’t feel like going to work. I have no energy, and I can’t eat or sleep.‖ The patient shows no interest in taking part in the care by saying, ―What’s the use?‖ Which response by the nurse is best?
a. It sounds like you have lost hope.
b. It sounds like you have lost energy.
c. It sounds like you have lost your appetite.
d. It sounds like you have lost the ability to sleep.
a. It sounds like you have lost hope.
All of the patient’s description are describing a loss of hope. While losses of energy, appetite, and sleep are indicated, they only address a part of patient’s problems. A loss of hope encompasses the holistic view of the patient.
