Student nurses’/midwives’ perceptions of spirituality/spiritual care, spiritual care - PowerPoint Presentation

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Student nurses’/midwives’ perceptions of spirituality/spiritual care, spiritual care competency and factors contributing to perceived competency.Linda Ross1, Wilfred McSherry 2, Rene van Leeuwen 3, Tove Giske 4, Donia Baldacchino 5, Annemiek Schep-Akkerman 3, Paul Jarvis 11Faculty of Life Sciences & Education, University of South Wales2 Faculty of Health Sciences, Staffordshire University 3Christian University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands4VID University College, Norway5Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta (This study was funded by the RCN)

BackgroundThe spiritual part of life is important to health, wellbeing and quality of life (1). Student nurses/midwives are expected to be competent in spiritual care at point of registration (2) but little is known about how students become competent or how competency is assessed. In a pilot study we found that students who scored highly on spiritual wellbeing and spiritual attitude and involvement (personal spirituality) and those who viewed spirituality broadly (not just in religious terms) were most likely to feel competent in giving spiritual care (3,4). These students were at the start of their course so it was not possible to tell if spiritual care competency can be learned or what contributes to that learning.The study Aims 1.Describe how undergraduate student nurses/midwives perceive spirituality/spiritual care and how this changes over time.2.Describe how competent student nurses/midwives perceive themselves to be in delivering spiritual care and how this changes over time.3.Further explore factors contributing to development of spiritual care competency.MethodProspective, longitudinal, multinational, correlational survey design. A convenience sample of 2193 undergraduate nursing/midwifery students (69% response rate) enrolled at 22 universities in 8 countries completed questionnaires capturing demographic data (purpose designed questionnaire) and measuring perception of spirituality/spiritual care (SSCRS), spiritual care competency (SCCS), spiritual wellbeing (JAREL) and spiritual attitude and involvement (SAIL) on 4 occasions (start of course, year 2, year 3, end of course) between 2011-2015. Data were analysed using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses as appropriate. Results1.Students perceived spirituality/spiritual care more broadly than

just in religious terms and there was further broadening of perception over the duration of their course (+0.1, p<0.01).2.Students considered themselves to be only just competent (mean SCCS score 3.6, cut off point for competence >3.5 ) in spiritual care at the start of their course but competency increased significantly (mean score 4.0, p<0.01) by the end of the course indicating that spiritual caring skills can be learned. 3.Two factors were strongly and significantly correlated with perceived spiritual care competency: perception of spirituality (SCCRS correlations range 0.32-0.55, p<0.01) and personal spirituality (SAIL correlations range 0.29-0.41, p<0.01; JAREL correlations range 0.15-0.37, p<0.01). Students reporting highest perceived competency viewed spirituality in its broadest sense showing awareness of the full range of spiritual needs patients may present with. They also had high spiritual wellbeing (JAREL) and spiritual attitude and involvement (SAIL)scores. 4.They attributed their learning to caring for patients, events in their own lives and teaching/ discussion in university.ConclusionsWe have provided the first evidence that spiritual caring skills can be learned and that both theory and practice within degree courses as well as personal life events may contribute. Further analysis is needed to determine if competency can be predicted, if students who start with low scores in competency improve and if the study measures may be useful in student selection.  References1 Koenig H, King D, Carson V (2012). Handbook of religion and health. OUP, New York2 Nursing and Midwifery Council (2010). Standards for Pre-registration Midwifery Education. NMC, London.3 Ross L, van Leeuwen R, Baldacchino D, Giske T, McSherry W, Narayanasamy A, Downes C, Jarvis P, Schep-Akkerman A. (2014) Student nurses perceptions of spirituality and competence in delivering spiritual care: A European pilot study. Nurse Education Today, 34 (5), 697-7024 Ross L, Giske T, van Leeuwen R, Baldacchino D, McSherry W, Narayanasamy A, Jarvis P, Schep-Akkerman A (2016) Factors contributing to student nurses’/midwives’ perceived competency in spiritual care. Nurse Education Today, 36, 445-451.