Spirituality among Physicians and Nurses in Metropolitan Cities

Sook Nam Kim

doi:10.12934/jkpmhn.2010.19.2.143

Journal List > J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > v.19(2) > 1057848

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

Kim: Spirituality among Physicians and Nurses in Metropolitan Cities

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2010; 19(2): 143-153.

Published online: 30 June 2010

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2010.19.2.143

Spirituality among Physicians and Nurses in Metropolitan Cities

Sook Nam Kim

Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Catholic University of Pusan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Kim, Sook Nam, College of Nursing, Catholic University of Pusan, 4-1 Bugok 3-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 609-757, Korea. Tel: 82-51-510-0727, Fax: 82-51-510-0747, snkim@cup.ac.kr

Received 18 February 2010 Revised 3 June 2010 Accepted 4 June 2010

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

This study was a descriptive survey research to investigate physicians and nurses' spirituality and to determine the general characteristics of physicians and nurses and the differences in their spirituality according to characteristics related to their works.

Methods

The participants were 120 physicians and 120 nurses working in general hospitals with more than 500 beds located in metropolitan cities. The study data were collected from Nov. 15, 2009 to Dec. 30, 2009. Spirituality was measured using 'The scale for Korean' spirituality' developed by Lee et al (2003). The scale has 30 questions answered on a five-point scale. Descriptive statistics, ANCOVA, t-test and one-way ANOVA were also used with the SPSS/WIN 170.0 program to analyze the data.

Results

The spirituality of physicians and nurses was slightly higher than 3 points, a theoretical mean, which was at mid-level. The nurses had a significantly higher level than the physicians in 6 dimensions of spirituality and in the dimension of awareness. For differences of spirituality according to general characteristics and work related characteristics, there were significant differences according to the importance of religion in life, religion and age.

Conclusion

Interest in spirituality is an important for medical professionals if they were to meet various patient demands within diverse cultures and beliefs. Medical science and nursing science should be sensitive to the spiritual demands of medical professionals themselves and their patients by developing educational programs to increase spirituality in education and practical affairs.

Keywords: Spirituality, Physician, Nurse

Figures and Tables

Table 1

General Characteristics of Subjects (N=240)

Note: Excluded missing data in an analysis.

Table 2

Occupational and Other Characteristics of Subjects (N=240)

Note: Excluded missing data in an analysis.

Table 3

Degree of Spirituality among Physicians and Nurses (N=240)

^†F-value of ANCOVA with age and years in practice as covariate.

Table 4

Difference of Spirituality according to General Characteristics (N=240)

^†Scheffe test.

Table 5

Difference of Spirituality according to Occupational and Other Characteristics (N=240)

References

1. Allport GW. The individual and his religion. New York: Macmilan;1960.

2. Banks R. Health and spiritual dimensions: Relationships and implications for professional programs. J Sch Health. 1980; 50:195–202.

3. Becker AL. Ethical considerations of teaching spirituality in the academy. Nurs Ethics. 2009; 16(6):697–706.

4. Choi GJ, Je SB. Spirituality effect on ego integrity of aged people. J Welf Aged. 2007; 38:109–126.

5. Choi SO, Kim SN, Shin KL, Lee JJ. Meaning in life of a resident community of normal adults. J Korean Acad Adult Nurs. 2002; 14(3):359–367.

6. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Rev. ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association Publishing;1987.

7. Heintz LM, Baruss I. Spirituality in late adulthood. Psychol Rep. 2001; 88(3):651–654.

8. Jeon JH, Lee WK, Lee SJ, Lee WH. A pilot study of reliability and validity of the Korean version of mindful attention awareness scale. Korean J Clin Psychol. 2007; 26(1):201–212.

9. Kang ES. Relationship of the purpose in life, spiritual well-being, self-concept, self-esteem of adolescence. J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2003; 12(3):245–259.

10. Kang JA, Shin DW, Hwang EJ, Kim HY, Ahn SH, Yoo YS. Hospice education among hospice professionals and its regional variations in Korea. Korean J Hosp Palliat Care. 2009; 12(3):132–138.

11. Kang YJ. Development and effect of christian group counseling program for the enhancement of spirituality well-being and wellness. Korean J Christ Couns. 2006; 5:13–43.

12. Kim GS. Present status of spiritual nursing education in Korea. J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 1995; 4(2):90–97.

13. Kim MK. Aging and spirituality. Korean J Res Gerontol. 2008; 17:97–111.

14. Koenig HG, McCullough ME, Larson DB. The handbook of religion and health. Oxford: Oxford university press;2001.

15. Kwon SM. The psychological maturity based on buddhism. Seoul: Catholic University of Korea;2001. Unpublished manuscript.

16. Lee KY, Kim CH, Kim DW. Development of the spirituality scale. Korean J Couns Psychother. 2003; 15(4):711–728.

17. Lee KY. Development of the spirituality improvement training program. Korean J Couns Psychother. 2006; 18(4):779–800.

18. Lukoff D, Lu F, Turner R. Toward a more culturally sensitive DSM-IV: Psychoreligious and psychospiritual problems. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1992; 180:673–682.

19. Macrae JA. Nursing as a spiritual practice: A contemporary application of Florence Nightingale's view. New York: Springer;2001.

20. Maslow AH. Farther reaches of human nature. New York: Viking;1971.

21. McSherry W. A descriptive survey of nurses' survey of spirituality and spiritual care. Hull, England: University of Hull;1997. Unpublished Master's thesis.

22. Narayanasamy A. Nurse's awareness and educational preparation in meeting their patients spiritual needs. Nurse Educ Today. 1991; 13:196–201.

23. Oh PJ, Kang KA. Spirituality: Concept analysis. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2000; 30:1145–1155.

24. Park JY. Spiritual care: Human and theological meaning. Health Miss. 2009; 17:4–14.

25. Resnick R. Gestalt therapy discussion with the masters. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Pub;1990.

26. Sung MH. Effects of spiritual well-being on spiritual nursing intervention. J Korean Oncol Nurs. 2009; 9(1):15–22.

27. Swinton J. Spiritual care: A multidisciplinary model of care. Health Miss. 2009; 17:5–23.

28. Vance DL. Nurses's attitudes towards spirituality and patient care. Med Surg Nurs. 2001; 10(5):264–268.

29. Wallace M, Campbell S, Grossman SC, Shea JM, Lange JW, Quell TT. Integrating spirituality into undergraduate nursing curricula. Int J Nurs Educ Scholarsh. 2008; 5(1):1–13.

30. Wong KF, Lee LY, Lee JK. Hong Kong enrolled nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Int Nurs Rev. 2008; 55(3):333–340.

TOOLS

Similar articles