Spirituality in nursing: what are the issues?

This article describes the author's attempt to highlight the problem areas associated with providing spiritual care for patients. The focus of this work is to discuss the following areas of interest: What is spirituality? The issue of spirituality in nursing. The impact of spirituality for the patient. The relevance or irrelevance of religion. The concept of serenity as a goal for nursing practice. The author provides examples, specifically regarding older people, explaining why spiritual care of patients is decidedly problematic in the British healthcare system and provides suggestions as to how to reintegrate this essential part of caregiving back into daily practice.