In religion, spirituality is a broad concept involving beliefs that emphasize the existence of a supreme being beyond self, a ‘God’. Further, it entails the belief, sense, and feeling of the existence of something greater than oneself and more to being just human. In addition, spirituality calls for exploring themes such as compassion, love, altruism, truth, and life after death. All spiritually inclined individuals must exercise the mentioned qualities throughout their lives (Litonjua, 2016). On the other hand, spirituality in non-religion is having a life with meaning and some sacredness and having an in-depth meaning of who you are as a human being. Similarly, in this context, being spiritual is not blindly accepting a faith passed down from generations but instead finding the true meaning of life.
Reflecting on a past incident where asking questions regarding spirituality and patient preferences would have improved patient-centered care will be vital in solving future issues. Collecting the above information on patients’ spirituality will help deliver patient-centered care to patients with different belief systems. For instance, a Buddhist patient will have an aversion to animal meat and products (Litonjua, 2016). Hence, enquiring about their preferences will help provide care to the patient while being sensitive to their beliefs by avoiding medication and diet made of animal products. Another example is that Christian patients are mostly not against medicine but firmly believe that prayers play an essential role in their healing. Therefore, having the belief in mind will allow the patient to practice their religion by allowing the hospital chaplain to pray with them (Litonjua, 2016). Moreover, the only way to achieve patient-centered care is by recognizing patients’ beliefs and respecting them accordingly.
Reference
Litonjua, M. D. (2016). Spiritual, but not religious: untangling a seeming paradox.International Review of Modern Sociology, 42(1), 21–55. Retrieved from Web.