Spiritual Care Practices of Advanced Practice Nurses: A Multinational Study

• Two thirds of participants reported engaging in spiritual care practices regularly.
• The majority of educational programs did not teach spiritual care assessment.
• Training reduces discomfort with spiritual care practices and minimizes the need for clergy.
• European APNs were more likely to perform spiritual care assessments than Americans.
• Reticence and worry over political correctness were 2 common barriers to spiritual care.

Spiritual care is increasingly being recognized by governing bodies and patients as central to the work of advanced practiced nurses (APNs), whose work is expanding globally. In this study we sought to determine how APNs integrate spiritual care into clinical practice and potentially uncover barriers to doing so in the United States and Europe. We found that nearly 93% of participants recognized that patients have spiritual care needs, but only about two thirds of participants reported actively engaging in spiritual care practices. Furthermore, increased training reduced discomfort with provision of spiritual care, and this training empowered APNs to work without the help of clergy.