Why Spiritual Care?

Staying connected to something greater.

Photo courtesy of Pexels/Pixabay.

In a world that is constantly asking more of us, how can we stay connected to ourselves, to something greater, to a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives? This question guides most of my work, and my personal practices. Across years of conducting mixed-methods research to explore the role of spirituality among people with cancer, I am constantly presented with ways where our connection to spirit is challenged, and ways that we can remain connected amidst the very real pain, challenge, busyness, stress, and burnout of this modern world.

Making time and space for spirituality may seem elusive or impractical, especially when considering the limitations on our time and capacities. Along with co-authors Katie Addicott, MSN, FNP-C, ACHPN, and William E. Rosa, PhD, MBE, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, my hope for this recent piece in the American Journal of Nursing is to highlight simple, practical, and enjoyable ways to incorporate spirituality into everyday life and everyday nursing care, with the intention of supporting our own well-being and the well-being of patients and families we work with.

Defining spirituality 

While various definitions have been offered, “spirituality” generally refers to a human experience of connection […]

2023-02-21T10:51:33-05:00February 21st, 2023|end of life, Nursing, Palliative care|0 Comments
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Dia De Los Muertos: Thoughts On Life, Death, Nursing, and Time With Our Families

I discovered she died the way I typically learn a patient I’d navigated for died: the tiny abbreviation “dcsd” appeared next to her name on my computer’s patient list. Although her passing was not unexpected, I felt a deep sadness at the loss of her beautiful soul. From my desk, I sent a silent prayer of remembrance, and then another asking comfort for her family.

She was about the same age as my daughter, and like her, married to a devoted husband, the mother of young children. She was also an only child like my daughter, and feeling this connection, I grieved for her mother too. I wondered if there were things she would have done differently if she’d known their time together would be cut short.

Nursing doesn’t stop for the holidays.

Dia de Los Muertos. Illustration by Julianna Paradisi

We are entering the holiday season, and nurses begin scheduling their holidays off, and on. Not everyone will get what they desire. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that ringing in this season is the Latino celebration, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead, Oct. 31-Nov. 2), which is not […]

2019-10-30T09:58:35-04:00October 30th, 2019|Nursing, nursing career|0 Comments
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House of Death, House of Life: Reflections of a Hospice Volunteer

Perhaps the fundamental requirement for hospice volunteers is an open mind. Assumptions and first impressions rarely predict reality. I met a soft-spoken woman who was once a nun, then later became a theme park belly dancer. I met an ex-Marine officer and small-town police chief, a self-described “soldier by nature,” who denounced all wars after 1945 as senseless bloodbaths. I met a former civil rights activist upset that minorities were moving into his neighborhood.

lllustration by McClain Moore. All rights reserved. lllustration by McClain Moore. All rights reserved.

That’s from the August Reflections essay in AJN, “House of Death, House of Life.” The author, Ezra Ochshorn, explores the moments of tragedy and levity he encounters in his work as a hospice volunteer, the powerful impression made on him by people who are either at peace or full of “bitterness and regrets” as they approach death, his realization that his most important task is to be in the “here and now” with each person—and then to do his best to take this lesson back into his own life.

But why not read the entire short essay, since it’s free? Just click the link above.—JM, senior editor

2016-11-21T13:06:47-05:00August 9th, 2013|patient engagement|1 Comment
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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