The aim of the project was to embed spiritual care within local health care services to ensure that this element of care becomes an integral component of local palliative care service delivery.

Over the 3 years of the Spiritual Care Project, 1413 healthcare professionals in the area attended 109 seminars, workshops, in-service training, guest lectures or workshops. Often these educational events took place at health campuses or residential aged care facilities, but also at more public locations such as community centres. Topics ranged from ‘What is spiritual care?’ to ‘spirituality in death and dying’, ‘spiritual self-care’, ‘difficult conversations’ and ‘spiritual care skills’.

A few workshops focused on Aboriginal spirituality and were attended by local Gumbbainggirr elders. Workshops for clergy and pastoral carers focused on developing an understanding of the medical and palliative care issues surrounding death.

Objectives

• To raise awareness of health care professionals and volunteers in aged care and palliative care settings, about spiritual care
• To develop a language of spiritual care
• To increase competency of health care professionals and volunteers in spiritual care giving.

Outcomes and Conclusions

As a result of the workshops over the years:

• Spiritual care is everyone’s business - it is not just for clergy, pastoral carers.
• All human beings, by their very nature, are spiritual, although that may not always be so obvious to others or even themselves
• You can learn to be more in touch with your spirituality in many ways - but it may take some practice
• Whatever way you practice, it always involves bringing loving attention to what is alive in you and others
• Learning about spiritual care involves the willingness to explore your own spirituality and the ability to connect with others… be it self, other people, God or nature
• Spiritual care is more being than doing; it is about creating a space of loving kindness (in which all expressions of life are welcome)
• Spiritual care is not a technology of healing; yet it involves the potential for profound healing

Publications (available for download below. Booklets also available for $3 per copy from the Division Office):

Booklet 1 - Spiritual Care for Self and Others
Booklet 2 - Sharing Spirituality
Booklet 5 - Conversations about Spirituality
Booklet 4 - Death & Dying: Grief & Loss
Booklet 3 - Self-care for Health Care Professionals
Booklet 6 - Internet and reference resource spiritual care
Booklet 7 - Living Fully with a Life Threatening Illness
Final Project Report
The care that shines from within: The role of spirituality in aged and palliative care - Masters thesis
Teaching spiritual care to health care professionals (journal article).