Conclusion
The study found that the palliative care RNs’ spiritual perspective and spiritual caring practice were higher than acute care RNs. The relationship of spiritual perspective to spiritual practice was significant for palliative care, but not for acute care RNs. It was also shown that the palliative care RNs were older and more experienced than were the acute care RNs and they had been in their specialty area for much longer. The palliative care RNs were more advanced in their nursing career and had made a commitment to their specialist area of palliative care nursing. It is concluded also that nurses in the acute care environment may benefit from additional support for their spiritual caring and to address their identified barriers of ‘insufficient time’ and ‘patient privacy’ for such care.