Nursing education programs are being increasingly challenged to incorporate spirituality and
spiritual care-giving into the curriculum. The purposes of this study were to explore
how students in a baccalaureate curriculum perceived their spirituality and spiritual health,
and their perceptions of spiritual nursing care. Students in the first and fourth years of the
program filled out a survey that included a spiritual well-being scale and several open-ended
questions. Overall, students had a strong awareness of personal spirituality and a high
level of spiritual health. They identified a number of behaviours and characteristics of the
nurse that facilitated spiritual nursing care. Fourth year students demonstrated a more
patient-centered approach to spiritual care. They placed less emphasis on the nurse's agenda
and qualities and more on supporting the patient's beliefs. & 2002, Elsevier Science Ltd.
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