Question

The act of assessing patients is not a new concept for health care providers. It may be new, however, to consider assessing the spiritual needs of patients. Discuss the feasibility/practicality of conducting spiritual assessments in the clinical setting. Who can perform them? Who should perform them? What is the role of the nurse on the health care team in regards to spiritual assessments? What role do other team members play, i.e. non-direct patient contact team members?

Answer 1

The healthcare professionals who are involved in direct patient care like doctors and nurses can perform physical assessment. Generally it is the duty of the physician to perform a spiritual assessment at the time of admission. In healthcare settings the spiritual assessments are required for terminal ill patients ,chronic conditions ,incurable disease, mental health issues,etc.,These types of situation of a patient can provide a better feasibility to get a patient's spiritual assessment done and find out their needs.Later this can be included in the intervention of patient care.

The role of the nurse is equally important because they are with the patients round the clock.They help to provide a holistic care to the patient as per their need and thus can improve the patient satisfaction.

The other team members plays a role through communication method. They provide their care by talking in relevance to their believes and orqcyicescand ensuring them to be a active participant in the care provided.