Sunday Brunch Info

Here's some info for another way to connect with the women of the Open Door. Check out the Sunday Brunch info at the Open Door website.

# 2 Spiritual Assessment

At Montefiore we chart by exception. There is a review of systems checklist that also includes educational assessment and spiritual assessment. Every time I document I see that checkbox, and think how exactly do you spiritually assess someone? We learn in school about cultural and spiritual differences, but I've never seen anyone else on my unit write a spiritual assessment in their notes. And then I wonder how to respectfully and tactfully complete this assessment.....Are you having any pain? on a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your pain? Have you had a bowel movement recently? Are you feeling nauseous? Any swelling in your legs? Do you love Jesus?? On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your love for Jesus?....probably not the best approach.

What might be some "softer" questions to ask that may bridge into a discussion about a person's spiritual life? Do you have any examples from your practice of being able to spiritually assess your patient? Do you think it is right for us to try to objectively chart our impressions of someone's spirituality? What responses should we be looking for to determine if someone is spiritually healthy or unhealthy?

#1 When did you first realize you wanted to be a nurse?

I would like to know a little story about how you decided to become a nurse. What other careers did you consider?

Here is my story. After I graduated from high school I was accepted at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. I changed my mind every week about what major I was going to choose. one week psychology, one week Spanish education, one week International business, one week missions, one week nothing I don't want to go to college. I was without a solid direction. Two weeks before I was to leave for school, my grandmother got sick and was in the hospital in Minnesota. My dad was told that he and whoever else could come should make the trip because she wasn't doing well. I was able to go with my dad, and we spent three days in the hospital with my grandma before she passed away. Driving home reflecting on those three days I realized how much I enjoyed being in the hospital despite the difficulty of losing my grandma. What impacted me the most was the nurse who took care of her. So I figured I would at lease give it a try and I prayed that my passion for the profession would continue through school. During my five years of school I never doubted that nursing was what I wanted to do. Also during those five years I experienced many affirming situations that made me realize that this is what God had made me to do. The implications of this I am still yet to fully understand, and to be honest something I am afraid of most of the time, but I hope to discover with this group....but we'll leave those discussions for next time.

Open Door Nurses

Welcome to our online discussion blog! I have created this blog so that we may have ongoing discussions even if we can't all meet in the same place at the same time.

My goals for this group are to develop relationships with one another to provide support, and to challenge one another in determining how we can spiritually care for our patients.