Abstract:

Spiritual care has become recognised as part of the holistic care offered collaboratively by health care professionals (HCPs), family and friends in hospitals and in the community to patients and their significant others. This article seeks to explore, from the perspective of a hospital chaplain working in an acute hospital setting, several issues which need to be considered by HCPs prior to offering spiritual care to others. These include HCPs having a degree of insight into their own personal story as well as questions about what they understand the nature of spirituality, spiritual need and the assessment of spiritual need to be. This article is based on the premise that in offering spiritual care to others we have to develop an ongoing awareness of who we are and what our needs are, as well as the needs of the other.

Author: Ewan Kelly