CTR is a 51 year old woman who is divorced and lives with her son and granddaughter. She works a full-time job as well as a part-time job to make ends meet . She struggles everyday with high blood pressure, type II diabetes and multiple other musculoskeletal problems, but one thing she does not struggle with is her faith. Upon meeting with her and performing the spiritual assessment (Balzer-Riley, 2008) using the tool as assigned CTR consented to an assessment of her spiritual health.
It was very evident that her faith, family and friends are all very important in her life. CTR considers herself to be a very religious person. She prays every day and attends church on Sundays and Wednesdays when she is not working. When she finds herself stressed from work, or just the aspects of daily life she is able to turn to her faith to cope. As a nurse, CTR feels that her purpose in life is to help others whether it is family, her patients or through church outreach programs. Faith is first and foremost in her life followed by family and friends.
She does feel that her faith plays a huge part in her health, but there is a lot she can do to improve it on her own. One thing she does struggle with that could improve her blood pressure and diabetes is her eating habits. A goal for CTR is to improve her eating habits to improve her overall wellbeing. She voiced that she should treat the body that God gave her with more respect and that’s something she prays about on a regular basis. CTR is a member of the Church of God and uses her church community not only as a support system, but as an outlet for stress.
She often travels with her church family to religious conferences and mission trips to foreign countries. Travel is an important aspect in her life and is one of the greatest contributors to her happiness. She does regret that due to work and finances, she is not able to travel more. The one thing that does make her happy is her granddaughter. She enjoys spending time with her and raising her in the words of Christ. Overall, CTR is strongly in touch with her faith and uses it on a regular basis to cope with her health and spiritual wellbeing.
Not only does her faith help her, but it also helps her to witness to others that she comes in contact with. One of the single most important things I can do for CTR as her nurse is pray with her. She often turns to prayer herself, so the single act of praying together would create a significant nurse patient relationship. Something else I could do for CTR is giving her access to pastoral care while she is unable to attend church (Balzer-Riley 2008). This is a way to help heal her soul, which will help to heal her body.
Since family and friends play such an integral part in her happiness, encourage them to come and visit will also help in the healing process. Overall, this was a wonderful experience. To be able to talk with a woman so strong in her faith and so selfless is rare to find. She is a great example to others and to me. Meeting the spiritual needs of a patient like this is not hard when they are already so strong in their faith. Just being present for this patient and the power of prayer is all that CTR asks for. Reference Balzer-Riley, J. (2008). Communication in nursing (6th ed). St. Loius: Mosby.