Learning from Listening: Helping Healthcare Students to Understand Spiritual Assessment in Clinical Practice.

We aim to evaluate the perceptions of healthcare students while taking a spiritual history (SH). Fifty students were trained on how to take a SH, interviewed inpatients and answered a questionnaire concerning their perceptions. A total of 362 patients were interviewed: 60.1% of students felt comfortable taking a SH, 85.1% believed the patient liked the approach, and 72.1% believed more benefits could come with a follow-up. When students felt more comfortable, they tended to believe the patient: liked the approach (p < 0.01), felt better (p < 0.01) and more motivated (p < 0.01). Spirituality/health educational strategies may be a valid strategy to prepare future health professionals to face spiritual issues in health scenarios.