The Process of Spiritual Care Education among Iranian Nursing Undergraduates.

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Core of nursing is care and it includes all dimension of holistic care from physical to spiritual aspect. Unlike philosophy of all nursing programs which emphasizes on teaching students in spiritual dimension, in practice, most of them concentrate on skills and physical aspects of learning with no obligation for spiritual preparation of students. As process of spiritual care learning and effective elements are poorly studied in Iran, therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the process of spiritual care education among Iranian nursing undergraduate. Methods: This research was a qualitative study using grounded theory Strauss & Corbin (1998 version) approach from 2010 to 2012. Data were concurrently collected through deep –semi structured interviews (18 students 4 teachers and 3 Hospital supervisions), and analyzed using constant comparative analysis techniques. Analysis comparing continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Findings: The results of this study were classified into five main themes or categories. "Personal input & self-reserves", "Emotional paradox in clinical practice", "Learning the spiritual care", "Clinical and informal learning" and "Learning atmosphere". "Clinical and informal learning" that connects all the categories was core variable in this study which demonstrated that spiritual care learning take places in practice with no systematic education program. Conclusion: Strengthening the moral and ethical foundation of teachers /coaches, appropriate teaching strategies, compile a coherent spiritual content, and supporting learning environment may facilitate spiritual learning.