Using the synergy model to provide spiritual nursing care in critical care settings.

To purchase electronic or print reprints, contact The InnoVision Group, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656. Phone, (800) 809-2273 or (949) 362-2050 (ext 532); fax, (949) 362-2049; e-mail, [email protected]. What Is Spirituality? Scholars are seeking to clarify spirituality as a concept for use in the health sciences. Authors generally agree that the concept of spirituality is broader than the concept of religion. Religious beliefs and practices can be expressions of spirituality, but spirituality exists apart from religion. The consensus is that spirituality is defined as the manner by which persons seek meaning in their lives and experience transcendence— connectedness to that which is beyond the self—whereas religion is best understood as adherence to an accepted formalized system of belief and practices. Most nurse authors view spirituality as a universal phenomenon, for although all persons do not understand and accept the supernatural, all persons have needs for seeking meaning and acceptance in their lives. Although spirituality is an abstract and multidimensional concept, 2 components of spirituality are widely described: vertical and horizontal. The vertical component describes that which is transcendent, the connections between a patient (inside Amy Rex Smith, DNSc, APRN, BC