Spiritual Care of the Patient

Catalog description

Offered asynchronously online. This course is open to any student at Elms College. Please note - this elective course does NOT fulfill the religion core requirement. The purpose of this course is to facilitate healthcare professionals' understanding of the importance of spirituality for the patient, and to enable caregivers to become more aware of their spiritual selves thereby becoming more comfortable engaging with their patients regarding aspects of spirituality. Further, interdisciplinary teams coordinating with chaplaincy over spiritual and religious care of their patients is explored. This course will be conducted in full appreciation of the grandeur and complexity of the human person in light of Christian anthropology. By the end of the course, it is intended that the student will gain the confidence to initiate conversations surrounding end-of-life situations and intervene where appropriate to coordinate spiritual care. This course prepares nurses and other healthcare professionals to implement an appropriate spiritual assessment and provide quality patient-centered spiritual care according to Joint Commission guidelines with Catholic, Christian, and other traditions.