The Effect of Spiritual Training on the Moral Sensitivity of Nursing Students

Background: The main goal of nursing profession is to provide people’s health that cannot be achieved only through the use of scientific methods, and it is essential to pay special attention to spirituality and ethics for its attainment. The current study aimed at determining the effect of spirituality training on the moral sensitivity of nursing students. Methods: The current quasi-experimental study was conducted on 70 nursing students of the fourth and higher semesters (35 in each group) from Iran University of Medical Sciences selected by stratified sampling proportion to size method. Pre-test was administered to both groups; then the intervention group attended six training sessions, once a week each for one hour, and the post-test was administered to the two groups one month after the end of the intervention. Data were collected by demographic characteristics and the Korean Version of the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire (K-MSQ), and analyzed by descriptive statistics including frequency distribution, mean and standard d deviation, and inferential statistics including Chi-square, Fisher test, t-test, paired t-test and analysis of covariance using SPSS V. 22.  Results: The study results showed a significant difference between the moral sensitivity score of the intervention group before (4.07±0.53) and after (6.36±0.18) training (P<0.001).  Conclusion: The obtained results indicated that the moral sensitivity score of nursing students increased after spirituality training. Due to the fact that nursing students are responsible for providing nursing services in their future careers, placing these concepts in their curriculum as a course unit or along with other courses, especially Islamic ethics and Islamic thought is recommended.