Bridge to Wellness: Focusing on spirituality in health care takes in the whole person
by Angie Adiska, RN
According to “Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, Third Edition” by the American Nurses Association, “Nurses have long observed that when illness or brokenness occurs, healthcare consumers, whether individually or with family or friends, often turn to their source of spiritual strength for reassurance, support, and healing.”
My faith called me to my nursing career, but I suppose my nursing career also called me to faith. I have been fortunate to work with a Catholic hospital for the past 15 years, where the care of the human spirit is at the center of our mission.
Inside Chelsea Hospital, our chaplain’s morning prayer sounds through the overhead speakers in each hallway at 9 a.m. We are asked to pause, if possible, and spend 30 seconds in joined prayer. I have observed staff with their heads reverently bowed, and in that short time, we are encouraged in our work by a strength bigger than our own.
I couldn’t have walked into countless patient rooms wearing a smile and unadulterated joy in my heart without the solid footing of my faith.
Those in healthcare have a rare and raw window to the soul. Exposed and vulnerable, human beings in hospital beds are acutely aware of their mortality and passing time. Suffering in faith is holy ground, and I have seen hospital staff, from nurses to housekeeping to doctors to laboratory technicians, assist patients in carrying this out with grace and dignity. To pray, listen, even hug—these are the moments we step with them into the unknown and spiritual care begins.
I remember walking into my first patient’s room as a student nurse. As I nervously visualized the head-to-toe assessment I was to be tested on, I realized my nursing instructor noticed something I hadn’t: this patient was extremely uncomfortable. My instructor bent low toward the patient, met the patient’s eyes, and asked if she could adjust their pillow. Graciously, the patient conceded as my instructor situated the pillow and blankets. Warmth radiated; the patient smiled like she was captivated by an angel. I saw what made the difference, and I knew from that moment I never wanted to walk into a room without seeing the person in front of me first and the tasks second.
We give the best care when we focus on spirituality in health care by looking at the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. Better health outcomes are apparent when spirituality is included in the hospital and beyond, even if it’s simply looking someone in the eye and adjusting their pillow.
In the words of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, “We are to do for one another what Jesus did: Comfort others by inspiring in them hope and confidence in life. Our distinctive vocation in Christian Healthcare is not so much to heal better or more efficiently than anyone else; it is to strengthen their confidence in life. The ultimate goal of our care is to give those who are ill, through our care, a reason to hope.”
This column is sponsored by the Stockbridge Area Wellness Coalition. Angie Adiska, RN, is the
faith community nurse liaison for Chelsea Hospital.
