The spiritual and pastoral dimensions of care in interprofessional contexts

Abstract

Spiritual issues encompass what is most meaningful and central in human existence. During times of illness, crisis or transition spiritual issues are likely to come to the fore of human awareness for both patients and professionals. All health care professionals need to include the spiritual dimension in assessment and treatment of patients. Professionals in different disciplines have distinct contributions to make in the way they use the lens and language of their training to assess religious and spiritual issues of patients. Therefore, interprofessional dialogue and collaboration is important in understanding each other's perspective on the spiritual dimensions of care. In this article the spiritual dimensions of care are explored. The differences between pastoral, medical and nursing approaches to spiritual care are demonstrated through case examples. Guidelines for assessment of religion and spiritual information useful to health care professionals across interprofessional boundaries are presented.

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