Spiritual Care in Nursing

The holistic approach is the most complete approach in delivery of medical care. Illnesses increase individual’s spiritual needs as well as their physical, emotional, mental and social needs. The spirituality derives from the Latin word “spiritus”, which means “to breathe, to be alive” and defined in the sense of feeling the life. In order to pave the way for treatment and to keep healthy, it is necessary to meet this need. The spiritual care is one of the basic elements of nursing. It was determined that the spiritual care eases the pain and reduces anxiety, protects physiological, psychological and mental health and strengthens communication. It is an important nursing role to provide the necessary care by evaluating individuals’ spiritual needs. If the nurse manages to provide the necessary care without being influenced by his or her own religious or spiritual beliefs, interests or ideas, he or she can make it possible for the patient to benefit from his or her own spiritual sources. The purpose of this article is to define individual’s spirituality in the framework of holistic medical approach and explain the content of the necessary care that needs to be provided by the nurse.