Concept Analysis of Clinical Judgment in Spiritual Care

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to obtain a definition of clinical judgment in spiritual care.

Methods: Six databases were searched: Ichushi-Web, CiNii, PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search, and ScienceDirect. Search terms included “clinical judgment” and “spiritual care.” Meeting the criteria were 36, which were analyzed using Rodgers’ evolutionary method of concept analysis.

Results: The following four attributes were extracted: “gaining clues about the patient’s spirituality through everyday observations,” “Seeing the patient as a whole person and thinking deeply about even the inner world of a patient,” “deciding the timing of care while considering the time limit,” and “deciding the direction of care for healing or self-exploration.”

Conclusion: This concept of clinical judgment in spiritual care is defined as follows: identifying clues related to the patient’s spirituality through daily observations, while being mindful of limited time, and understanding the patient’s inner world holistically, in order to determine the direction of care for healing or self-exploration.