Using Reflective Learning Activities to Increase Student Comfort in Providing Spiritually Responsive Care

Purpose: This study investigated the comfort levels of undergraduate communication disorders (CDS) students in asking patient questions related to spiritually responsive care (SRC). This study also examined the effectiveness of spiritual responsiveness training (SRT) in improving comfort levels and explored predictors of posttraining change. Method: Twenty-two CDS students participated in this study. Students completed a baseline comfort measure before participating in two 80-min SRT sessions. Comfort scales were readministered 1 week posttraining and 10 weeks posttraining. The relationships among student comfort, spirituality, academic year, and depth of written reflection were evaluated. Results: Results indicated that as a group, undergraduate CDS students were initially somewhat comfortable asking SRC questions, with no significant differences found across academic year. Notably, there was a significant increase in comfort levels after SRT, with an increase between pre-SRT comfort measures and those taken 1 week after training ( p < .001). These gains were maintained 10 weeks later ( p = .001). Students who were initially less comfortable asking spiritual care questions benefited the most from training; however, student-rated spirituality, reflective ability, or number of college credits were not significant predictors of change. Conclusions: These findings suggest SRT significantly enhanced undergraduate CDS students' comfort in providing SRC, with this improvement being sustained over time. Moreover, the benefits of the training were observed irrespective of students' program year, personal spirituality, or reflective ability, highlighting the accessibility and inclusivity of SRT. Overall, SRT emerges as a time-efficient and effective approach to enhancing students' culturally responsive care skills.