“Foundations of Spirituality”
The topic reading on “Foundations of Spirituality” is quite captivating as its main focus is highlighting the kind of tension that exists between religion and science. Based on the reading, some people have more trust in science than in spirituality, and others believe in spirituality other than science. This is what they refer to as the relativism and scientism tension. Based on the readings, scientism entails the conviction in science, whereas relativism entails faith in something, and backing up the belief with evidence (Course Researchers, 2020). Based on the readings, it can be concluded that belief in relativism is better than belief in science, as it pushes for evidence in supporting claims.
In response to the above knowledge, we learn that spirituality and healthcare go hand in hand. It means that when giving care to patients, one cannot rely on science alone, and neither can one rely on spirituality alone. The two must be applied together. Science has come up with medication for almost all illnesses, but patients cannot heal without reliance on God and spirituality. For example, when confronted with end-of-life care in patients, spirituality plays an active role in sustaining the patient’s life and giving them hope (Timmins et al., 2017). It means that science has tried everything through medications and therapies, but the patient is still ill, and they might die at any time. Based on the readings, when science has failed, God is the only hope left for patients. Hence, healthcare professionals should ensure that they encourage the patient and hold their hand and reassure them that they will be well. Additionally, a spiritual background assessment is very crucial in giving spiritual care. This will ensure that once the nurse is uncomfortable giving spiritual advice to the patient because of the difference in spiritual worldviews, the nurse can refer them to the most suitable person.