Interview Then complete a spiritual assessment on someone in your community. Use the form found below the rubric. Use bullet points or numbers rather than complete sentences. Be sure to cho

Element

Element

Fully Addressed

Element

Partially Addressed

Element

Insufficient or Not Addressed

Pts Poss

Pts Earned

· Appropriate assessment tool chosen, Source & Reference Included (2 pts)

2

· Assessment sufficiently covers all areas of the tool

20

· Nursing action appropriate

· Nursing action based on the assessment and how chosen

· Results of action included

8

· Includes own thoughts/takeaways on experience of doing the assessment

6

Spelling, Grammar, APA

Free of spelling, typographical, and grammatical errors, uses bullet points or numbering, reference in proper APA

4

Total Points

40

Questions Asked-use bullet points

Interviewee Responses-use bullet points

Nursing Action(s)-use bullet points

Why Chosen-use bullet points

Result of Nursing Action: Interviewee thoughts/reactions-use bullet points

Your own thoughts/take-aways-use bullet points

Questions Asked (use bullet points)

Interviewee Responses (use bullet points)

F – Faith (and/or Beliefs, Spiritual Practices)

1. What is your faith or spiritual beliefs?

2. Do you consider yourself spiritual or religious?

3. Tell me more about what you mean when you say “it’s more than going to church.”

4. What things do you believe that give your life meaning and purpose?

A – Active (and/or Availability, Accessibility, Applicability)

5. Are you part of a religious or spiritual community?

6. Can you tell me about how you are active in your faith community?

7. Is support for your faith available to you?

8. Do you have access to what you need to apply your faith (or your beliefs)?

9. It sounds like reading the Bible is important to you. Can you tell me more about that?

10. Is there a person or a group whose presence and support you value at a time like this?

C – Coping (and/or Comfort); Conflict (and/or Concern)

11. How are you coping with your medical situation?

12. Is your faith (your beliefs) helping you cope?

13. How is your faith (your beliefs) providing comfort in light of your diagnosis?

14. Do any of your religious beliefs or spiritual practices conflict with medical treatment?

1. I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Father God, and the Holy Spirit.

2. I would consider myself more spiritual than religious. I have a personal

relationship with God. It’s more than just “going to church.”

3. For me it’s a part of me. It’s not a building, or a set of rules, that sometimes people think of when they hear the word

“religion.”

4. The two biggest things that keep me going is my faith and my family. I have a wonderful family. I’m blessed, with my husband, kids, and grandkids. I pray for them every day. My faith in Jesus is what gives it all meaning.

5. Yes, I am. I attend a nondenominational Christian church.

6. I go to church pretty much every Sunday, and go to the bible study on Wednesdays. I am involved with the women’s ministry.

7. The prayer chain is one thing that’s really helpful. When I had my surgery it was good to know that others in the church were praying for me. My family and friends, and the pastor are all supports too.

8. Yes. I have the Word of God in my heart. God always hears my prayers, even if I can’t read the Bible right now.

9. Yes, it is. I normally read the Scripture every morning while I drink my coffee. It’s kind of become my ritual over the years. Since my eye has been so blurry since the surgery, and light kind of bothers it I’ve had to put it on hold for now. I’ve been praying and listening to music.

15. Are there any particular concerns you have for your medical team?

10. Well, I always enjoy having the kids and grandkids around. They come when they can, but they are busy though with their own lives. A couple friends have called to check in on me too. It helps to know people are thinking of you and praying for your recovery. It is nice that you came to see how I’m doing.

11. Pretty well I’d say. The first few days was tough because we had to keep going in to get the pressure down in my eye, but that’s been better now.

12. Definitely. He is my strength.

13. I don’t have to worry because ultimately I know God is in control.

14. No, none that I can think of.

15. I’m concerned about the blurriness, but

they’ve assured me that will continue to get better. I’m already starting to see an

improvement. I’m hoping the surgery on my other eye will go a little better, but I’m not too worried. It will be alright.

Nursing Action(s)-use bullet points

Why Chosen-use bullet points

T – Treatment Plan

1. I asked her if she would like me to read her some scripture verses, and when she agreed, I read her passages she chose.

2. I offered to show her a Bible application on her kindle that will read Scripture to her out loud, and she was able to use it successfully.

1. She shared that this is something important to her, and is normally part of her daily routine. She can’t read due to her blurred vision and the strain it places on her eyes.

2. I saw she had a kindle on her table, and a smartphone, so I knew she must be at least somewhat familiar with applications. The program would allow her to continue her daily ritual, if she chooses to listen to the narrated Bible until her vision returns.

Result of Nursing Action: Interviewee thoughts/reactions use bullet points

Your own thoughts/take-aways-use bullet points

1. She was very pleased that I offered to read her scripture, and sat listening with her eyes closed. Afterwards, she thanked me.

2. She actually had the Bible app on her smartphone and kindle that I was going to show her, but she didn’t know it had the capability to read it to her. She was very appreciative, and was even showing her husband.

1. I was surprised at how uncomfortable at times I felt asking her these questions, even though I am also a Christian. I think the reason why I felt this way is because faith and spirituality is such a personal thing, I didn’t want to offend her, or cross boundaries. I think it will take practice to

be more comfortable, but it is worth it to truly care for my patients holistically.

Questions Asked (use bullet points)

Interviewee Responses (use bullet points)

· Do you belong to any religious or spiritual community?

· What is your source of strength, hope and comfort?

· Do you believe in a higher power?

· What lifestyle activities or practices does your religion encourage, discourage, or forbid?

· What does your spirituality/religion mean to you?

· Are there any unresolved areas in your life at this point that you would like us to assist you with addressing?

· In what ways can the nursing staff assist you and your family during the time you are in homecare?

· Are there specific elements of nursing and medical care that your beliefs/religion discourage/ forbid?

· Are there any specific spiritual or religious beliefs or practices that you hold in regards to end of life?

Source: Blais & Hayes, 2016, p. 435

· “Yes, I belong to the faith that is named Hinduism”

· “The source of my strength is through meditation and attending the Hindu temple where I can meet with the members of my community and socialize around my friends”

· “We have many gods that someone might pick to follow. I follow the god Ganesh. He is the son of Lord Shiva (destroyer of worlds) and Goddess Parvati. Because I moved from Guyana to America I pray to Ganesh to help in my new ventures in this world/country.”

· “We are encouraged to meditate and do yoga daily to help us be more grounded and at peace with our mind, body, and soul. We are discouraged to judge people; we hope that if someone lives a pure life that karma would not bring them harm. We are forbidden to eat cow. Cow is a holy animal to use.”

· “My religion means everything to me. It is how I live my life.”

· “At this point in my life I do not feel like I have anything unresolved. I am a proud grandma; my granddaughter is in school to be a doctor. My goal is to get better and start to manage my disease and mental health.”

· “I would love for the homecare nurses to make sure take off their shoes when they enter my home. It is believed that walking round in dirty shoes in a house brings bad karma from the world into the house.”

· “I will not take any medications that might have animal products. I am vegetarian. Many people from my faith might not be vegetarian but will not

eat cow/beef. If at any point I will need a home

health aide to assist me, I ask for only female aides. In my faith we can not have a member of the opposite sex see us, unless it is our spouse. I know I am diabetic, but fasting is very important to me. I am working with my doctor to help control my sugar levels while fasting.

· Please remember that I would like to die at home not in a hospital. Death is a very important transition. There are many karmic implications that require proper prayer and rituals during the

transition of death.”

Nursing Action(s)-use bullet points

Why Chosen-use bullet points

· Assessed the client in contacting her temple to help arrange a swami (religious leader) to come visit the client at her home while she is with homecare.

· Ensured to take off my shoes every time I stepped into the patient’s home

· Keep an open line of communication between the patient and the nurse. This helps create trust between the patient and the nurse.

· Educated client on the spiritual support team that we have with the homecare agency

· Assigned a spiritual assessment guideline for all clinicians to use with all visits

Source: Blais & Hayes, 2016, p. 438.

· This will help the client stay connected with her religions group and leader while she is battling her disease at home. This will help the patient have a sense of connection and feel she is still remembered and cared for by her community and spiritual faith.

· Patient believes that if you wear shoes from outside that it will bring in bad karma from the world around her into her private house.

· This will ensure a therapeutic line of communicate between the patient and nurse and help develop a good working and trusting relationship

· This information provided allows the patient to know that if there are anytime during the homecare episode her leader can not make it over that she has support and another source

· If the guideline is embedded in the assessments, it will ensure spiritual assessments are completed and spiritual competence is addressed. It will be the

patient’s choice if she wants to address her spirituality every visit but at least it will be addressed.

Result of Nursing Action: Interviewee thoughts/reactions use bullet points

Your own thoughts/take-aways-use bullet points

· The patient reported that after seeing her swami she felt a sense of peace about her current health condition and was given more motivation mentally to keep fighting her health conditions

· The patient reported that she has been struggling with depression since she has moved from her home country and her son has been away on business. She stated that when clinicians address how she is feeling spiritually that she feels more connected with the clinicians.

· The most important thing that I took away from this assignment is the importance of completing a spiritual assessment when first meeting our patients

· We need to embed the assessment into our initial assessments and to repeat a modified assessment with each visit.

· The way a person views their health might be in direct connect to how they perceive their faith and spirituality

· When a patient is fighting a health condition, their faith or spirituality can be a great coping tool. Nurses who take the time to learn what their beliefs area can help guide positive coping.