VCU School of Nursing to host conference on spirituality

By Joe Kuttenkuler

RICHMOND, Va. — The role of spirituality in nursing and the importance of incorporating spiritual education into nursing curriculums are some of the topics that will be discussed at a symposium titled "Spirituality: Education, Research and Practice." The conference, presented by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing, will be held from 8:30 – 4:30 p.m. April 7 in VCU’s Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballroom, 907 Floyd Ave.

"Nursing is a discipline that requires a person to give all of themselves," said Inez Tuck, Ph.D., chairman of integrative systems in VCU’s School of Nursing. "Nurses often end up dealing with more than just a patient’s physical needs, so it’s important that they be able to recognize and assist with a person’s psychological, emotional and spiritual needs as well."

Tuck said while spirituality has been an integral part of nursing since its inception, until recently, it had not been formally incorporated into any of the nearly 700 undergraduate nursing curriculums across the country.

"There is a growing body of knowledge in the field of spirituality, and studies are beginning to show that spiritual involvement does influence how well and how fast people recover," Tuck said. "It’s important that we study and teach the idea of dealing with the needs of the whole person."

Conference presenters include:

• Janet Macrae, Ph.D., division of nursing at New York University, on the philosophy of spirituality.
  
• Everett Worthington, Ph.D., department of psychology at VCU, on the importance of forgiveness in healing.
  
• Janet Ramsey, Ph.D., department of sociology at Roanoke College and Rosemary Blieszner, Ph.D., department of human development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute on "Resiliency and Spirituality in Women."

The program also includes reports from the four universities that received grant money last year to establish spirituality programs in their nursing schools – Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Towson University in Towson, Md., Kean University in Union, N.J., and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla.

The conference is being funded by the John Templeton Foundation which was established in 1987 to encourage a relationship between science and religion.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information call Alyson Britt at (804) 828-3206.