The impact of spiritual care education upon preparing undergraduate nursing students to provide spiritual care

Spiritual care is an important component of holistic care. In Australia competency statements relating to nursing practice emphasise the need to provide care that addresses the spiritual as well as other aspects of being. However, many nurses feel they are poorly prepared to provide spiritual care. This is attributed largely to lack a of spiritual care education provided in undergraduate nursing programmes. A few higher education providers have responded to this lack of spiritual care education by incorporating specific content related to this area into their undergraduate nursing programme. Minimal international studies have investigated the impact of spiritual care education on undergraduate nursing students and no Australian studies were identified. This review explores spiritual care education in undergraduate nursing programmes and identifies the need for an Australian study.