This paper discusses a spiritual assessment completed on a 63 year old female patient. The primary domains that were assessed were meaning and purpose, inner strengths, interconnections, ability to connect and forgive, worship and connectedness with God, and a sense of connection with life. The focus for doing this spiritual assessment on my patient was to obtain information about my patients ability to cope, about the level (if any) spiritual distress, and to find out about any interventions that would assist my patient cope with the health care crisis she is facingOn June 15, 2013 I completed a spiritual assessment on a 63 year old with a new diagnosis of acute episode of diverticulitis. The interview and assessment was completed in a quiet atmosphere with me sitting facing L.H., making direct eye contact, and actively listening.
L.H. is a 63 year old former short order cook and banquet manager who retired five years ago to help care for her grandson. L.H. is married with 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren.
Her only comorbidity is a diagnosis of breast cancer in 1994 which has since been in remission. L.H. was admitted to Penn State Hershey Medical Center on May 28, 2013. She was admitted to Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital June 14, 2013 due to debility from a lengthy stay in the ICU.My assessment findings follow below based on the information I obtained from speaking with my patient L.
H. while using two assessment tools. The two tools I used to complete my spiritual assessment are the spiritual assessment tool from exhibit 32-3 and the spiritual assessment scale from exhibit 32-4 which are found in the book Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice by B.M. Dossey and L.
Keegan.When I interviewed L.H. she informed me that her religion is Christian, Brethren. L.
H. stated that she is a Christian believer, she is a pilgrim in this world, and the Holy Spirit is preparing a home to get her into eternity. According to L.H. what gives her inner strength is knowing there is life after death which gives her life meaning.
She stated that she maintains her spiritual beliefs with daily prayer, reading the Bible, attending church every Sunday.L.H. answered to me that the foundation of her motivation in life is her faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ died for her sins and rose on the third day. She stated the same Jesus is going to come back soon, that is what she told me she believes. Most people get sad when they are sick but L.H. is happy even though she is currently sick.
L.H. believes that whatever ailment comes in her body is from God and the reason is to bring her closer to God.She stated that she believes “all things work together for good to them that love God who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) L.
H. surrounds herself with moral and godly people to feel alive and full of spirit. She feels her doctors, church family, family and lots of prayer will help her overcome her illness and regain her strength which will enable her to return home.During my interview L.H.
stated that that she had interconnections with the Bible and a prayer which has helped heal her spirit. She left me know that she has no issues with connecting in life giving ways. For example she cooks, cleans, and babysits for other people and drives some elderly individuals to their doctors’ appointments.L.H. has attended the same church for over 50 years and feels that over that time some of her prayers have been answered and some have not.
According to L.H.s she cannot think of any environmental; stressors that she has but feels connected to the world but is not concerned about the survival of the planet. L.H.
was very receptive to my visit and had expressed concern about not being able to attend church due to her hospitalization. (See care plan #1). Secondly, L.H. was dealing with the fact that since she entered the hospital she has gotten considerably weaker.
She has lost a degree of her independence and is more dependent on others for assistance with her daily needs. What does this mean for L.H.s understanding of herself, her purpose in living to suddenly be dependent on others? (See care plan #2) Lastly, L.H.
appears to be a strong willed woman who doesnts give up. L.H. may be facing a crisis of hope. She stated she hopes she gets well soon so she can return to her home environment and continue to help care for her grandson.
(See care plan #3). The most important things in her life are her children and grandchildren.I feel that my spiritual assessment on my patient L.H. was successful.
I was able to organize daily visits by her pastor which helped relieve some of her anxiety. I plan to use the spiritual assessment on future patients so I will be able to provide spiritual assistance to my patients while observing their goals.The only challenge I encountered while conducting my spiritual assessment on L.H. was lack of adequate time with her.
In the future, while conducting a spiritual assessment, I plan on making an appointment with my patients prior to the assessment to ensure that the patient allocates enough time for the assessmentMy spiritual assessment with L.H. was wonderful. I was able to encourage her, and assist to help fulfill her spiritual needs during her time of recovery in rehab. This spiritual assessment tool assisted me to discuss L.
H.’s spiritual needs, assess her spiritual life, and help her achieve some of her spiritual desires she had based on my experience with the two tools I used. I discussed with L.H. that patients could experience greater spiritual growth during their illness.
