Preparing undergraduate nurses and midwives for spiritual care: Some developments in European education over the last decade

ABSTRACT

In recent years, preparing nurses and midwives to feel competent and confident in providing spiritual care has become the subject of international research. There is an emerging body of evidence affirming the importance of spirituality in promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals. Despite this growing recognition, there are still inconsistencies in the way that undergraduate students in nursing and midwifery are taught and prepared to assess and address this dimension of the person, and fundamentally how these concepts are integrated within programmes of education. This article charts the evolution of a European programme of research, spanning a decade, exploring undergraduate nurses’ and midwives’ perception of spirituality and perceived competence in providing spiritual care. The research culminated in an educational research study that led to the co-production and development of best practice standards for spiritual care education and the launch of a network to sustain and advance this neglected area of nursing and midwifery practice.

KEYWORDS:

• European
• Spirituality
• spiritual care
• students
• nursing/midwifery
• competence

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who has participated in, contributed to and supported the EPICC Project over the past three-years.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Wilfred McSherry is Professor of Nursing, School of Health and Social Care, Staffordshire University/The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, UK and VID vitenskapelige høgskole, Berge, Norway.

Linda Ross is Professor of Nursing, School of Care Sciences, University of South Wales, UK.

Josephine Attard is Head of Department (Midwifery) Faculty of Health Sciences (Mater Dei Hospital), University of Malta, Malta.

René van Leeuwen is Professor of Care and Meaning, Viaa Christian University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, Netherlands.

Tove Giske is Professor of Nursing, VID vitenskapelige høgskole, Berge, Norway.

Tormod Kleiven is Director at Centre of Diaconia and Professional Practice VID vitenskapelige høgskole, Diakonhjemmet, Oslo, Norway.

Adam Boughey is Lecturer in Adult Nursing, School of Health and Social Care, Staffordshire University, UK

Additional information

Funding

Erasmus+ KA2 Grant Agreement Number: 2016-1-UK01-KA203-024467 Awarded €242080.00 ‘Enhancing Nurses Competence in Providing Spiritual Care through Innovation Education and Compassionate Care’ September 2016–July 2019.