Self-Perceived Spiritual Care Competencies Among Nursing and Midwifery Students in Slovenia: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Nataša Mlinar Reljić, Wilfred Mcsherry, Metka Skubic and 4 others
PMID 41472533WHAT IT FOUND
Most nursing and midwifery students in Slovenia rated their spiritual care competence as only moderate.
Nurses scored higher than midwives, and women scored higher than men, but few students reported high competence in assessing or planning spiritual care.
Key findings
01Only 5.3% of students reported a high level of spiritual care competency, while 51.7% reported a moderate level.
02Nursing students demonstrated significantly higher spiritual competencies across three subscales and overall compared to midwifery students.
03Female students exhibited higher competencies than male students in interpersonal spirituality, assessment and planning, and overall scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study relies entirely on self-reported data, which may be influenced by response bias or overestimation of competence. The cross-sectional design prevents any conclusions about cause and effect or how competence develops over time. The sample was limited to students in Slovenia, so findings may not apply to other cultural or educational contexts. The response rate was 43.94%, which may limit the generalisability of the results to the wider student population.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that nurses or midwives are incompetent at delivering spiritual care to patients. The study measures students' self-perceived competence during their education, not actual clinical performance or patient outcomes.