According to recent research by Gallup, 81% of Americans believe in God. Additional research from BMC Gastric shows that spirituality is an essential part of patient care and wellness, especially for those with serious illnesses or at the end of their lives. However, further research also shows that nurses caring for such patients struggle to incorporate spirituality into patient care.
Incorporating spirituality in nursing is important. PLOS reports show that when nurses show concerns by asking patients about their spirituality, it can improve patient and nursing dynamics. Fundamentally, incorporating spirituality in patient care is a good way to show care to patients.
If you are writing a nursing paper about spirituality and cannot figure out how to incorporate spiritual texts, these tips can help. We also have expert nursing writers who can help you do it efficiently by writing an original, well-flowing, and plagiarism-free paper.
Determine the focus of your paper by selecting a good topic if your instructor has not already assigned one.
Consider what your interests are. For instance, are you focused on spirituality for end-of-life care, chronic illnesses, or mental health?
Also, consider research that has already been done or something from your past experience that sparked an interest in nursing.
Remember that a topic is a concise summary of your paper, so you must be careful about how you choose one. Use these tips to narrow down to a good topic:
You can select the right spiritual texts to include in your paper, depending on your chosen topic.
Go through various philosophical and spiritual texts to determine which is right for your paper.
A relevant spiritual text will make your nursing paper relevant to the chosen topic and make it easier to communicate your ideas.
Your best sources for this information are the Bible, the Quran, and the teachings of Buddhist masters.
It's important to consider spiritual texts from different religious backgrounds and traditions to present a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
Ensure you take time to review each of these texts to those that are directly related to your nursing topic. Familiarize yourself with the texts, context, and themes to understand their relevance. Your focus should be on spiritual texts that touch on healing, compassion, empathy, or any other relevant nursing and patient care element.
Clarify why you are incorporating the spiritual texts in your nursing paper. Are you trying to explain a particular point?
Offer insights into how patients can take care of patients. Remember, spiritual values are highly important in nursing and patient care. So, clarify the essence of these texts in your nursing paper to ensure a cohesive and focused integration.
Assess all the surrounding circumstances, ideas, and phrases of spiritual texts based on the topic of your essay. Doing this will give you the information needed to comprehend and interpret the spiritual texts.
Ensure the spiritual texts support your arguments and contribute to the overall theme of your essay. Study the historical and cultural context, intended audiences, and philosophical foundation to understand and interpret the texts accurately.
If your information is from sources other than the Bible or Quran, evaluate their credibility and usefulness to determine whether it is appropriate literature.
Check the accuracy and authenticity of the texts and their authors by checking the relevance, authority, purpose, and accuracy of the sources.
Also, consider looking for spiritual texts already addressed by other researchers. Check the commentaries and studies experts on spiritual matters that you are exploring in your paper. Doing this will show you have done appropriate research and convince readers of your arguments.
Once you have identified relevant and credible spiritual text, introduce it in your paper. First, provide some background information so that readers know what you are talking about. This could be the text's origin, author (s), and how it has contributed to spirituality and nursing.
Next, talk about its relevance to the focus of your paper and the spiritual content you are discussing. Ensure you describe how the texts support your argument.
Then, introduce the spiritual texts; for instance, if your topic is about mental health, a good scripture to include is:
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” - Deuteronomy 31:8
Thus, you could provide some background information about how terminally ill patients struggle independently. Feeling lonely. So, the scripture reminds them that they are not alone.
To effectively incorporate spiritual text into your paper, you must demonstrate a deep understanding of the texts and the relationship between nursing.
To make this connection, you must investigate how spirituality can influence nurses and how it can help patients deal with challenges brought about by illnesses. For instance, using the earlier example of mental, you could say:
While depression is a serious mental health condition that can make you feel lonely, God is there with you. He will never forsake you. This belief can reinforce inner peace and provide a sense of connection between the patient and God, which is exactly what a suffering patient needs.
A brief explanation of the selected scripture will help the targeted reader understand its significance and relevance. Remember, nurses play a significant role in helping patients search for meaning, guiding them in expressing personal beliefs, and participating in religious and cultural practices.
Additionally, they use their spirituality to help patients achieve spiritual well-being. So, finding texts supporting this and making appropriate connections is helpful.
Another example is if your topic concerns a patient with questions about end-of-life care, you could evaluate a scripture highlighting these arguments. To begin with, Ecclesiastes (3:19, 9:2) instructs us to pursue the goods of the world. It is good to eat, drink, and enjoy our toil for our short lives. (Philippians 1:21–24) also talks about death as a good thing for believers.
To explain this point about nursing, talk about how nurses must preserve and restore health while acknowledging human ability's limitations.
It's also important to connect the scripture with nursing theories, such as the spiritual nursing care theory, to emphasize holistic care, spirituality, and patient-centeredness.
Share some personal stories about how the scripture has influenced your understanding of the power of faith and spiritual care in nursing. Provide specific cases where you applied the teaching of the scripture in providing care and solace to patients during your clinical trials. This is especially important if you are writing a reflective essay.
If you are not sure how to go about this, answering the following questions can help:
You could talk about how the experience and the scripture have guided your ethical decision-making. Scriptures contain important teachings and principles that guide human behavior, including decision-making.
Integrating these teachings in your nursing profession can help you navigate difficult situations often experienced in patient care. For example, nurses must obtain consent before administering any medical procedure. Patients must understand the risks and benefits of a medical procedure before administration.
To ensure the experience and scripture give a coherent structure to your paper, make a connection between them and your opinion. This will help organize your thoughts and give your paper a clear flow of ideas.
All the spiritual texts you use should be natural and not feel forced. Spiritual integration is more than adding random texts to your nursing paper. There should be a relevant connection between your topic and scripture.
If you don't integrate the verses correctly, it will feel unnatural, and readers will be turned off. Every text should have a spiritual perspective.
If you want to integrate spiritual texts from any sources, go beyond just mentioning them. You must show how patients can use and practice the teachings in their lives.
For instance, if a patient is holding a grudge against someone, you could talk about how God teaches us the significance of forgiveness. If we don’t forgive, then God won’t forgive us.
Even if you are not a firm believer in religiousness, showing respect for others in your writings is important. As you incorporate spiritual texts in your paper and show the connection between them and the nursing topic, acknowledge that not everyone is religious. This is also important even in nursing practice; just because you believe in a higher power doesn't mean your patients do not do so.
Nurses should never impose personal religious beliefs or practices on their patients. That said, recognize that your readers may not share the same religious beliefs or interpret the teachings the same way you do. So, adhere to the ethical nursing guidelines and ensure that the way you present your interpretation does not impose on the readers.
Nursing papers incorporating spiritual texts must also be properly cited, just like other academic papers. Your work should include the specific bible version, book chapter, and verse numbers to cite the specific scripture accurately. Follow the citation style advised by your instructor or the one your nursing school is associated with. If there are no specific instructions, use either of the following:
APA style of writing and format is used by the American Psychological Association to communicate ideas, format documents, and cite sources. When using APA, remember there is an in-text citation and a reference page. In-text citation is where you provide the author's name and date of publication.
The reference page is where you provide the list of all the sources provided within the texts.
The following are general guidelines for using APA style in nursing essays.
For instance, if you are citing the bible, for every in-text citation, begin by stating the version of the bible, year of original publication/date of publication for example, (King James bible 1780/2020)
If providing parenthetical citation with bile reference, begin with (title of the book, year of original publication/ date of publication, chapter of the book: verse).
MLA style is a common style used in humanities subjects but could also be applied in nurses' papers depending on the instructions. MLA uses parentheticals to include the author's last name and page number (John, 76). At the end of the paper, provide a works cited page with a list of all sources used within the paper, along with information such as the author's name, title, and publication date.
Other information you should know about using MLA style in your paper include:
Please consult APA 7 or MLA style guide websites for accurate information about formatting citations and references. The guides provide comprehensive guidelines on how to
A conclusion is an important paragraph in a nursing paper because it provides closure to the readers and reminds them of the major points of your topic. By the time you get to the last part of the paper, you will have done so much in explaining the tips about incorporating spiritual texts in your paper. As such, your work at this point will be to summarize what you talked about and show the significance of your paper.
Take this as an opportunity to wrap up your paper and leave readers with the last impression. Use as few words as possible to communicate this information. Ensure you don't introduce any new ideas about spirituality; the purpose of the conclusion is to give readers a sense of completeness.
To ensure there is clarity of communication of ideas throughout your nursing paper, use proper spelling, grammar, and phrases. This will not only avoid misinterpretation of spiritual texts but also allow readers to easily understand your topic.
Furthermore, using correct spelling and grammar shows you are attentive in your communication, a great sign of professionalism, and demonstrates your credibility as a nursing essay writer.
The main aim of a nursing spiritual paper is to convey ideas, arguments, and insights about a pressing topic. To help you with this, write down thoughts and ideas when researching. Organizing them will be useful when writing, as you will know which ideas should be first and last. It is also essential to create an outline.
By expressing these clearly and logically, you will help readers process and understand every information communicated. This clarity will show professionalism and enhance your paper's effectiveness in conveying the main argument.
Integrating spiritual texts in nursing papers is not a walk in the park. If you are having a hard time, there is no shame in asking for help. Reach out to nursing writing services like NurseMyGrade.com for professional writing help. These writers have handled many writing service requests such as homework help, tutoring, essay writing, and research paper writing. They
Writers from writing services understand that writing nursing papers is challenging, so they only hire writers with a nursing and medical background to handle all papers. All you have to do is provide all the nursing paper requirements and leave the rest to them.
Spiritual integration in nursing papers is an important part of demonstrating your understanding of spiritual teachings in relation to nursing.
Successful integration of spiritual texts requires evaluating their relevance, accuracy, and respectful exploration of different spiritual beliefs and practices.
By following the above tips, you can successfully integrate spiritual teachings into your nursing essay, thus presenting a well-rounded comprehension of spirituality and nursing.
Please remember to maintain a respectful and professional tone throughout the paper.
If you are struggling to write a good nursing paper that integrates spiritual texts, place an order with us. Our writers have handled various nursing papers, making them experts in this field.
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