Integrating Spiritual Bereavement Skills Into an Advanced Practice Curriculum

Background: When advanced practice nurses (APNs) encounter the need to address a bereaved individual's spirituality, gaps in educational preparation may prevent effective intervention. In addition, past and current research studies have not provided clear guidance for spiritually based bereavement care curricula within the graduate APN program. Method: Graduate advanced practice faculty successfully introduced classroom-based spiritual bereavement care education modules for APN students. Results: Course evaluations indicated student appreciation for the new content and practicum experiences provided. Students felt the new content to be essential in their development as expert practitioners. Conclusion: Through this innovation, the authors found that a variety of learning activities that addressed spiritual needs during the bereavement process was perceived as highly satisfactory by APNs. Within an ever increasingly diverse society, APNs have a significant role in performing responsibilities for bereaved individuals.