L = Lessons learned …show more content…
“Around the world, spiritual care in nursing is a critical part of providing holistic care, but within our profession, there is a lack of certainty over the meaning of spirituality and delivery of spiritual care, including nurses thinking of spirituality as religion” (Ramezani CITE) To tell you the truth I was one of those nurses who would first think of religion when discussing spirituality.
From this course, I have discovered a plethora of different types of spiritual care that involve religion and some that do not. Things such as: biofeedback, chakra, alderian therapy, theraputic touch, reiki, hydrotherapy, and music therapy. The main two spiritual therapies that I learned the most from, was music therapy and aromatherapy. I truly had no idea that these types of things could have such a profound affect on patients physically, such as decrease in vital signs and pain, and mentally by calming and reducing anxiety. Both can easily be incorporated in the care of my patients as well as in the patient’s
home.
O = Opinions
In my opinion, spiritual nursing should be used more often for patients. It is non-invasive, has no major side effect, and is a non-pharmacological option that could easily be incorporated in hospitals. Many studies have been conducted to prove the benefits of using spiritual care. “The results of this study showed that patients who underwent music intervention sessions experienced an improvement in their pain level … music intervention also exerted a significant impact on anxiety, depression, and the consumption of medications” (Guétin et al., 2012). It was also found that using 100% essential lavender oil could actually reduce blood pressure when used for 6 hours (Lytle, Mwatha, & Davids, 2014). If something as simple as playing some soothing music or adding a pleasant sent to the room can cause more comfort and less anxiety in a patient, as well as decrease vital signs and pain, we should try to implement these interventions before resorting to pharmacological methods.
G = Growth
From learning of the many benefits of spiritual care, I plan to incorporate it as much as I can. With future patients I plan to ask if they currently practice any type of spiritual care that could be continued in the hospital, as well as ask if they think they would enjoy and benefit, from any other type of spiritual care. I currently work at a Podiatrist office and recently I discussed the benefits of spiritual care with the physician. We now play soft music in each of the exams rooms to help relax and decrease anxiety in our patients. Also, I suffer from frequent headaches and anxiety and with the incorporation of music therapy and aromatherapy I have noticed a reduction in pain, with headaches, and decrease in anxiety, during attacks.