Using Innovative Teaching Strategies to Improve Nursing Student Competence and Confidence in Providing Spiritual Care.

Nurses need to assess patients and provide care that encompasses the mind, body, and spirit. However, in many cases, nurses may not know what to say to the patient, may be uncomfortable with silence, may not want to pry into the patient’s personal life, or may feel hesitant to invade the patient’s private ‘‘space.’’ In 1 study, nurses reveal that 92% of the time, they feel inadequately prepared to meet their patient’s spiritual needs. Nursing programs do not sufficiently prepare nurses in matters of spirituality. Little spiritual content is mentioned in nursing textbooks. Discussing spiritual concepts during the students’ nursing program lays a foundation for the development of caring for the spiritual needs of others. There is a reliance on nursing programs to prepare students to be able to address matters of spirituality with their patients. According to LaBine, ‘‘it is vital that nursing students are exposed, didactically and clinically, to the spiritual care of patients.’’ Further studies indicate that nursing students who reflect on their personal spirituality are better able to care for the spiritual needs of their patients. Moreover, a review of the professional literature indicates that there are limited studies on teaching spirituality in public community college nursing programs; rather most studies are conducted with private faith-based institutions. Various teaching methods have been used to introduce students to the subject of spirituality, including simulation, reflective journaling, and lecture. Taylor et al suggest that there is a ‘‘disconnect’’ between what the students learn and transfer to the clinical setting. Using a patient simulation is one strategy for helping nursing students learn about spiritual care. Blesch developed a simulation requiring students to respond to a patient in emotional and spiritual crisis. However, student observers documented that there was ‘‘awkward silence’’ during the simulation. Although some students reportedly responded by calling the chaplain or praying with the patient, many lack this intuitive response. To date, nursing literature provides very little information on how to teach spiritual care. The purpose of this article is to describe innovative teaching methods developed for students attending a state-supported community college associate degree nursing (ADN) program to improve competence and confidence in delivering care that addresses the spiritual dimension of nursing care. Methods included creating a spiritual simulation, interrupting the simulation at the midway point to introduce Key Phrases and Caring Behaviors, then restarting the simulation as the students practiced implementing the new teaching material into the simulation.