ABSTRACT
This chapter refers to the debate and offers some basic guidance for readers to use in their various clinical settings and professional practice. Self-awareness of how we can recognise and respond to our instinct and experience is a valuable tool in spiritual assessment. Spiritual care does not lend itself to a structured process undertaken in only one encounter or rely on a single tool to be effective. Although assessment tools can be useful in suggesting ways in which healthcare professionals can engage patients and their family carers in meaningful conversations, they are not an end in themselves. Spiritual assessment is by nature a flexible and fluid process that requires knowledge, skill, instinct and experience. Although assessment tools can be valuable, how and when they are used and most effective is open to debate. However, a flexible tool that uses open questions which can be adapted to local or departmental needs and culture can be effective.
