Care of the Spirit: Effects of an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate End-of-Life Course on Knowledge, Competence, and Response Empathy

Spiritual Care in Undergraduate Nursing Education: An Integrative Review

BACKGROUND

The growth of international migration and globalization has increasingly diversified patient populations, emphasizing the need for nursing students to provide competent spiritual care.

PURPOSE

To understand the teaching and learning strategies used to prepare undergraduate nursing students for spiritual care.

METHODS

An integrative review with deductive data analysis was used to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize diverse research methodologies.

RESULTS

Three educational approaches were identified, including passive, reflective, and combinatory approaches. The combinatory approach appears most appropriate for diverse learning styles within a student group.

CONCLUSIONS

No one strategy is best, but any combination of educational strategies can positively impact spiritual care competency within clinical practice.

A Systematic Review of Interprofessional Palliative Care Education Programs

CONTEXT

Interprofessional education (IPE) involving palliative and end-of-life content benefits learners by addressing interprofessional and palliative care (PC) competency needs.

OBJECTIVES

A synthesis of educational approaches promoting interprofessional PC in academic and clinical settings would address research gaps and promote effective teaching.

METHODS

A systematic review of interprofessional PC educational studies was conducted to summarize current approaches in PC IPE and to appraise teaching and research methods. Characteristics of excellence in interprofessional PC education established by Donesky et al. served as a framework for evaluating studies in this systematic review.

RESULTS

A total of 39 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Learners from medicine and nursing were the most included professions. University programs represented most studies, and evaluation methods demonstrated achievement of mostly self-reported outcomes like learner attitude and self-efficacy. While the effect of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes is well-documented, the effect of IPE on PC delivery is not. Although content spanned all interprofessional and PC domains, few studies addressed cultural aspects and fewer addressed well-being for the care provider.

CONCLUSION

In light of the current healthcare landscape, there is an imminent need to address culture and provider well-being more directly through interprofessional PC education. Education and research must also move beyond university programs into health systems to support the professional development of clinicians for systems integration, sustainability, and impact on patient outcomes. Future evaluation of interprofessional PC education would be strengthened by multisite studies, randomized controlled trials, and repeated measures looking at outcomes over time.

Educational interventions and strategies for spiritual care in nursing and healthcare students and staff: A scoping review

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To map existing evidence about educational interventions or strategies in nursing and allied healthcare concerning students' and staffs' spiritual care provision.

BACKGROUND

Spiritual care is an important part of whole person care, but healthcare staff lack competence and awareness of spiritual issues in practice. To rectify this, it is important to identify what educational approaches are most helpful in supporting them to provide spiritual care.

DESIGN

A scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR checklist.

METHOD

Searches in the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, ATLA and ERIC were conducted for papers spanning January 2009-May 2020. Search terms were related to spirituality, spiritual care, education and clinical teaching. Appraisal tools were used.

RESULTS

From the 2128 potentially relevant papers, 36 were included. The studies were from 15 different countries and involved nurses, physicians and other health-related professions, and both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were used. The results are presented in three themes: Understanding of spirituality, Strategies in educational settings, and Strategies in practice settings. The review points to great diversity in the content, lengths and setting of the educational interventions or strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Courses in spiritual care should be implemented in curricula in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, and several studies suggest it should be mandatory. Courses should also be available for healthcare staff to raise awareness and to encourage the integration of spiritual care into their everyday practice. There is a need for greater consensus about how spirituality and spiritual care are described in healthcare settings.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Spiritual care must be included both in monodisciplinary and multidisciplinary educational settings. The main result of spiritual care courses is in building awareness of spiritual issues and self-awareness. To ensure the provision of spiritual care for patients in healthcare practices, continuing and multidisciplinary education is recommended.