title: Discerning the healing path--how nurses assist patient spirituality in diverse health care settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine nurses' experiences in spiritual care in diverse clinical settings, preferably not palliative care.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Spirituality is part of holistic nursing care. The concept of spiritual literacy is introduced as the nurse's ability to read the spiritual signs of the human experience.
  
  
  METHODS
  Classical grounded theory methodology with open and selective coding was used to identify the participants' main concern and the strategies they used to resolve it, and to develop a substantive grounded theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected in 2008 and 2014 during eight focus group interviews with a total of 22 nurses recruited from a master's programme, postgraduate programmes and a local hospital. Data were analysed through constant comparison until the grounded theory emerged.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The participants' main concern was how to assist the patient to alleviation. The participants resolved this by Discerning the healing path, which comprises three stages: Tuning in on spirituality, Uncovering deep concerns and Facilitating the healing process. These three stages are accompanied all the way by the participants' Willingness to overcome own comfort zone and Building a trusting relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Spirituality is of relevance for all areas of nursing care, not just dying patients or those in palliative care. Spirituality relates to the deep and important things in life and affects how patients face health issues. Nurses attend to spirituality in patients because the pain of the soul touches them and the calmness of spiritual peace amazes them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The professional culture in the health care team socialises nurses into the workplace, and leaders need to pay close attention to how they can foster openness to spiritual matters. The personal and professional maturity of the nurse is fundamental to his or her willingness and ability to overcome own comfort zone.
authors.affiliation: Haraldsplass Deaconess University College, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Tove
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giske
authors.affiliation: Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Cone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D018939:Holistic Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D029181:Spirituality; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: clinical practice; existential care; nurse-patient relationship; nursing intervention; qualitative method; spiritual care