Sign up for email alert when new content gets added: Sign up
Vilbrun Dorsainvil
Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo, Haiti
ScientificTracks Abstracts: J Nursing Research and Practice
Education is one of the multiple factors which can interfere in promoting health care all around the world. So, education will empower people and individuals to better control and improve their own health and much more to improve the relation between physicians to physicians, physicians and nurses, physicians and patients and at last nurses to patients in practicing and delivering health care.
From different perspective, education can have different aspect. From a spiritual approach, all caregivers should be aware that every patient have their own beliefs, and their spirituality should not be a hindrance in the practice and delivery of health care whether the patient faith differs from its faith. Because spirituality - an almost universal character by which people seek hope and meaning of their lives. He is present in all people. A desire for transcendence-to be connected with someone or something beyond and greater than ourselves (Carson 1993). As a matter of fact, spirituality is a coping method among people experiencing a variety of illnesses, mild to critical illness as well as terminal illness and end of life issues.
The emphasis is going to the bond between nurses-patients, since the nurse is the people who spends more time with the patient than any other member of the health provider team. Nurses should have a humanistic approach to their patients rather than a mechanical view upon them, because their task is not resuming in doing simply a list of routine works such as taking care of the medication, dressing the wounds, visiting the patients etc., but taking care of the whole person-body and mind.
Spiritual care has its importance in practicing and delivering health care, but as it is mentioned above, it is part of our education (health caregivers) and nurses are the best people to identify the patients’ need since nurses are people who spend much more time with the patients. More often patient needs to be connected with their culture, a powerful being depending of their belief, and at that moment the nurse has to put the patient on the track by asking what they really want and kindly propose if they want such a thing. And afterward, they can ask for a cultural object, asking you to pray, to read some kind of text or phrases or whatever they might need according to their need. Some people think by doing that they can deny their faith or belief. But if your belief is firm, then helping your patient to cope with his disease by using a spiritual care method won’t affect your faith. When approaching the patient about spirituality, you might have different beliefs, but it's not a reason not to help him. Another thing is that the patient could select you specially for the task base on your relation while in the ward. Being concerned about the condition of your patient and want to see his improvement leave you no choice but to help him.
Some patients intend to a spiritual distress, because of their suffering, losing faith in their powerful being making them worse even though a good treatment is in place because they had mind nothing bad is going to happen them as long as they believe in this powerful being. The caregivers specially the nurse should have the ability to approach the patient asking about his belief and to have faith.
All is a matter of education. A spiritual approach of education is very important in improving health care all over the world. Because you just see the outside of the patient body, but you do not know the inner fight he’s going through. All caregivers should be aware about this and even more the nurses since they spend more time with the patients than physicians. Spirituality is a hindrance in practicing and delivering health care in the whole world.
Vilbrun Dorsainvil is a generalist physician doing his social service in Haiti. He trained in Dominican Republic at Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) and in his home country at Université de la Foundation Aristide (UniFA). He is a President of Christian Medical Society and Nursing Association – CMSNA in Haiti.
E-mail: vilbrundorsainvil@gmail.com
+44 7915641605
