A nurse is performing a spiritual assessment on a patient with ...

[tuffie]

A nurse is performing a spiritual assessment on a patient with depression. What does the nurse recognize as the key concept to a spiritual assessment?
 
  1. Learn how the patient answers questions about his or her religion and how satisfied the patient is with those answers.
  2. Learn how the patient answers questions about the meaning of life and how satisfied the patient is with those answers.
  3. Assess how the patient answers questions about formal spiritual practices and how his or her symptoms interfere with these practices.
  4. Assess how the patient answers a series of standardized questions that reveal the patient's choices of health care practices and religious choices.

Question 2

A nurse is performing a spirituality assessment on a patient who is being admitted with acute mania. What question will the nurse ask the patient during the initial assessment of the patient's spirituality? Select all that apply.
 
  1. Do you have a religious preference?
  2. What is your source of support or meaning in this experience?
  3. Are there any spiritual or religious practices that are important to you?
  4. Would you like me to contact your clergy member or religious leader?
  5. In what ways has your illness affected your view of yourself or of others or your faith?

[Melissahxx]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: 2
Explanation: 2. A spiritual assessment assesses how the patient answers questions about the meaning of life and how satisfied he or she is with those answers. Spirituality is broad term that describes how individuals answer questions about the meaning of life, while religion is a term used to describe formal faith-based practices and beliefs. While spirituality and religion may be similar to some individuals, these terms are different and the spirituality assessment focuses primarily on the patient's spirituality as a whole, not simply his or her religion. Spirituality is broad and informal, not formal. Also, this assessment does not necessarily relate the patient's symptoms to his or her own spirituality. This assessment is not performed by a series of standardized questions but, rather, by the nurse using both closed and open-ended questions, as well as therapeutic communication.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: 1, 3, 4
Explanation: The initial assessment of a patient's spirituality usually begins on admission and involves basic questions about a patient's spiritual or religious practices and what, if any, assistance the patient needs in following them. This primarily involves closed questions, such as: Do you have a religious preference?; Are there any spiritual or religious practices that are important to you?; Would you like me to contact your clergy member or religious leader? The other questions are open-ended questions and would not be asked by the nurse during the initial assessment of the patient's spirituality. The nurse will ask these open-ended questions the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship has been established, after the initial assessment.