Spirituality in Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Spirituality in Health Care - Essay Example As a means of understanding this to a more effective degree, the following analysis will discuss the role that spirituality plays in helping to address this primary task. As such, for purposes of this analysis, the author will focus specifically upon the realm of the way in which spirituality can play a role in attending to the needs of the patient, the way in which a clear delineation between a given set of beliefs and/or proselytize nation must be separated from spirituality, and the innate importance of being continually cognizant and aware/appreciative of different beliefs and the different multicultural approaches to spirituality that the patients might have. Only thorough exemplification and examination of these topics will give more effective understanding of how spirituality can be engaged within the realm of healthcare provision. The following analysis will provide a brief introduction into the topic as well as discussing the way in which three separate faiths integrate with a comparative approach to healthcare. As such, the three faiths which will be referenced are as follows: Buddhist, Shinto, and Baha’i. ... nderstood that spirituality is still a very delicate topic due to the fact that it does not exist, nor is represented, categorically among each and every patient that seeks a level of treatment (Reimer-Kirkham et al. 203). Instead, spirituality is a highly personal component of an individual’s worldview. As such, it is the ultimate role of the healthcare provider to be cognizant of this and not to seek to foster any particular type of approach to spirituality. Instead, merely listening and being aware of any needs/beliefs that the patient might represent to the healthcare provider is a preliminary and essential task. In this way, the first faith to be discussed, Buddhism, it must be understood that the Buddhist approach to healthcare provision is ultimately quite depressing with regards to the way in which care and treatment can be provided. From the Buddhist interpretation, even the highest form of care can only be viewed from the standpoint that death can merely be delayed a nd suffering itself should not necessarily be sought to be averted in and of itself due to the fact that it has an innate potential for purification and the ability to allow the individual to come to a greater appreciation for life and an escalation towards the state of nirvana. All of this of course springs from the understanding that Buddhism holds as a tacit truth that suffering is a part of life and as such should be accepted without actively seeking to diminish it. With that being said, it is of vital importance that healthcare provider is not a means anyway, or at any time, to seek to promote a particular worldview or proselytize their own belief system to the patient. This is of course due to the fact that this represents a clear breach of professionalism and an overstepping of the