Chapter 43: Spiritual Health
A nurse is completing a spiritual assessment of a client using the FICA assessment tool. Which question would the nurse most likely ask first?
"Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?"
A nurse is caring for a client with HIV. The client is angry, anxious, depressed, and defensive when asked questions regarding spirituality. What should the nurse say to make the client comfortable?
"I can see from your response that you might not have expected these questions."
A nursing instructor is preparing a class presentation on spiritual care. Which of the following would the instructor include as an essential component? Select all that apply.
- Empathy - Trust - Self-awareness
After assessing a client's spirituality, a nurse determines that the client is experiencing difficulty in the area of forgiveness. Which client statement would the nurse identify to support this conclusion?
- I think God is judgmental - It's all my fault that I'm sick now - My illness is God punishing me for not believing.
When conducting a spiritual assessment, the nurse must be sensitive to the client's personal beliefs. What questions should the nurse ask? Select all that apply.
- Is religion or God significant to you? - Do you feel your faith is helpful to you? - Why can't you share your feelings with me? I am your nurse.
The client is being discharged home with hospice due to a terminal disease. The nurse is arranging visitations of the spiritual leader for the next 3 months. Which of the outcomes identified supports this intervention? Select all that apply.
- The client identifies support provided by the spiritual leader - The client demonstrates spiritual practices such as praying - The client expresses satisfaction with spiritual relationships - The client expresses satisfaction with life
A nurse is reviewing several journal articles that describe the development of faith based on the work of Fowler. Place the stages below in the proper order beginning with infancy.
1. Undifferentiated-primal 2. Intuitive-projective 3. Mythic-literal 4. Synthetic- conventional 5. Individual-reflective 6. Conjuctive
A nurse is caring for a client whose left foot was surgically removed due to gangrene. The client tells the nurse that focusing more on his spiritual life helped him overcome the loss of his foot. Which of the following statements appropriately describes the spiritual dimension?
Being in harmony with the universe.
A nurse is caring for an infant who requires a treatment procedure. What would be most important for the nurse to do to help support the infant's spiritual needs?
Encourage parents to be present during the treatment.
A nurse is reviewing the history of a client admitted to the health care facility. The nurse notes that the client reports that he is an atheist. The nurse interprets this information as indicating that the client believes that:
God does not exist
The nurse is assessing a client's spiritual needs. During the assessment, the client states, "I don't have a reason to live. Why am I suffering so much?" The nurse interprets this statement as reflecting which spiritual need?
Meaning and purpose
The nursing diagnosis Spiritual Distress related to crisis of illness as evidenced by loss of meaning in life and overuse of pain medication is created for a client who attempted to take his life. Which intervention is appropriate for these problems?
Plan and coordinate a multidisciplinary team conference including the chaplain.
A nurse is administering a prescribed dose of an injection to a middle-aged client with Bell's palsy. What are the sources of fulfillment in the middle-years of an adult client's life?
Productive activity
A nurse is caring for a terminally ill client who believes that death and reincarnation are the ultimate gifts from God to mankind. What would be the most appropriate to integrate into this client's plan of care when providing spiritual support?
Provide supports that builds on the client's faith
A nurse is assisting a terminally ill female client with bathing. The client tells the nurse that she has great respect and faith in a particular spiritual leader. The nurse interprets this information as fulfilling which need for that client?
Sense of security for present and future
A client strongly refuses to be admitted to a long-term facility despite having no family to assist him with his needs at home. The client states, "If I go, I won't be able to go to church every Sunday!" The nurse understands that this statement is reflective of which issue?
Separation from Spiritual Ties
A nurse is providing care to a terminally ill client and family. The family practices Buddhism. When preparing the client and family for death, which action would be most important for the nurse to integrate into the plan of care?
Supporting the belief that death is temporary and needed for rebirth
A group of nursing students is reviewing Fowler's developmental stages and their correlation with the development of faith. The students demonstrate understanding of this information when they identify which of the following as the faith stage for adolescents?
Synthetic-conventional
A new nurse observes a priest visiting the clients every Saturday afternoon and praying with them. This activity supports which of the nursing outcomes?
The client uses a type of spiritual experience that provides her comfort.
After teaching a class on spirituality and spiritual patterns, the instructor determines that the teaching was successful when the students identify faith as which of the following?
Way of acting out beliefs
