Sunday, December 5, 2010

Spirituality in Compassionate Care: A Defnition

Highlighted in the December 2010 newsletter of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWISH) which is led by Dr. Christina Puchalski, the following definition of spirituality applies to the role of spiritual care in patient-centered, compassionate care.

"Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose, and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred."

The aforementioned definition stems from an interdisciplinary group from the National Consensus Conference (NCC) convened in February 2009. Consideration was given to the complexity of both the human spirit and the transcendent, whether religious or non-religious.