Advancing Spiritual Care in the Critical Care Unit: An Evidence-Based Practice Protocol for Optimizing Nurse-Delivered Spiritual Support
Nature and scope of the project
This capstone project fills a recognized gap in holistic patient care by enhancing the spiritual care competencies of Advocate Christ Medical Center's critical care nurses. Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring, which emphasizes the fundamental connections between spiritual, emotional, and physical care, will be the foundation for this endeavor. The main goal is to provide specialized training to fill this critical care gap.
Synthesis and analysis of supporting literature
The significance of spiritual care in enhancing patient outcomes—particularly for individuals with advanced illness or at the end of their lives—is supported by research. Nurses frequently report feeling unprepared to meet patients’ spiritual needs due to limited training, creating a gap in holistic care. Research for this project identified the importance of structured educational programs to enhance nurses’ confidence and skills in providing spiritual care. Addressing this gap through targeted training can improve patient and family outcomes, reduce moral distress in nurses, and better align nursing practice with the principles of holistic care.
Project implementation
The intervention is an eight-week educational program designed to increase nurses' confidence and skills in delivering spiritual care. A mixed-method approach will be used, including pre-and post-intervention surveys to quantitatively measure competency improvements and reflective journaling to gather qualitative insights. The educational sessions will use online modules, ensuring accessibility and accommodating nurses' schedules.
Evaluation criteria
The evaluation will focus on changes in nurses' spiritual care abilities and self-reported confidence in applying new spiritual care techniques. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be analyzed to assess the impact of the intervention comprehensively.
Outcomes
This project aims to enhance patient care outcomes, reduce spiritual distress in patients and their families, reduce moral distress in nurses, and better align with the institution's holistic care mission. The results will provide a framework that may be modified for use in various healthcare settings.
Recommendations
The findings will guide suggestions for incorporating spiritual care teaching into more general nursing practices. This framework may also inform the development of evidence-based protocols for integrating spiritual care into nursing education and practice across diverse healthcare settings.
Advancing Spiritual Care in the Critical Care Unit: An Evidence-Based Practice Protocol for Optimizing Nurse-Delivered Spiritual Support
