ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book gives an account of a study situated in the South East of England, and explores practising nurses' experience of spirituality as a resource in end of life care. It explores nurses' lived experience of spirituality as a means of helping patients to cope with loss associated with terminal or chronic disease. The book aims to gain an understanding of nurses' perceptions of spirituality as an aspect of person-centred care. It also explores the extent to which nurses facilitate spirituality as a source of coping, and explores how nurses use their personal resources in caring for those with chronic and terminal conditions. The book considers how nurses, as professional carers, cope with their own existential questioning in the face of others' suffering.
