Assessing Nurses' Knowledge of Spiritual Care Practices Before and After an Educational Workshop.

BACKGROUND: Although current research findings reflect that spiritual care is integral to the discipline of nursing, implementation of spiritual care still remains a neglected area of practice.

METHOD: The purpose of this pretest-posttest study was to determine whether a spiritual care educational workshop would increase nurses' knowledge, self-awareness, and abilities regarding spiritual care practices. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) was used to measure the nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about spirituality and spiritual care practices.

RESULTS: Forty-nine nurses working at a satellite hospital within the midwestern United States attended the educational workshop. A statistically significant increase in nurses' knowledge, self-awareness, and abilities regarding spiritual care practices was observed after the educational workshop. The majority of nurses reported that their nursing education inadequately prepared them to provide spiritual care to their patients, and they were unable to meet the spiritual needs of their patients.

CONCLUSION: Findings support the need for continued education regarding spiritual care practices among working nurses. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(3):115-122.