| Course | NURS 220 Advanced Nursing Communication (NURS220) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 2 |
| Assignment | Concise Writing Assignment |
| Paper type | Concise essay of 250 to 300 words |
| Length | about 289 words, 1 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: a 250 to 300 word essay in current APA format summarizing the impact of addressing spiritual care appropriate to a patient's religious and cultural preferences; length tightly enforced; no title page, abstract, outline or reference page required |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BSN |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 2 in Liberty's published NURS 220 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NURS 220 Week 2
Spiritual Care That Fits the Patient: The Impact of Honoring Religious and Cultural Preferences
[Student Name]
School of Nursing, Liberty University
NURS 220: Advanced Nursing Communication
Concise Writing Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The essay is an original sample; the sources cited are real.
Spiritual Care That Fits the Patient: The Impact of Honoring Religious and Cultural Preferences
Spiritual care is part of nursing care, not an addition to it. A review of evidence on spirituality in serious illness concluded that patients' spiritual needs should be incorporated into their care, because attention to those needs is associated with better quality of life and with care that reflects patients' values (Balboni et al., 2022). Smaller trials point to practical benefits as well, including better sleep in patients with chronic disease who received spiritual interventions (Yousofvand et al., 2026). The impact depends on fit: care must match the patient's own tradition, not the nurse's assumptions.
When care ignores religious practice, patients notice. In interviews with 16 hospitalized Muslim orthopedic patients, Sharifudin et al. (2026) found that daily prayer, a central obligation of their faith and a source of comfort in illness, was often difficult to perform despite a hospital policy meant to support it, especially for patients limited by injury. A policy alone did not meet the need; staff help with positioning, washing and timing did. The same principle applies across faiths: a Catholic patient may want the sacrament of the sick, and a Jewish patient may need help keeping kosher meals.
Nurses can make spiritual care fit the patient through three actions. First, ask, using an open question about what gives the patient strength or what practices matter to them. Second, accommodate, adjusting care around prayer, diet, modesty and visitors where safety allows. Third, refer, inviting a chaplain or the patient's own faith leader when the patient wishes. Spiritual care that fits the patient tells them their whole person, not only their diagnosis, is in the nurse's care. Its impact is a patient who feels known and a plan of care that honors what that patient values most.
References
Balboni, T. A., VanderWeele, T. J., Doan-Soares, S. D., Long, K. N. G., Ferrell, B. R., Fitchett, G., Koenig, H. G., Bain, P. A., Puchalski, C., Steinhauser, K. E., Sulmasy, D. P., & Koh, H. K. (2022). Spirituality in serious illness and health. JAMA, 328(2), 184-197. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.11086
Sharifudin, M. A., Yusop, Y. M., Taib, M. N. A., Omar, M. F., Ibrahim, A. H., & Yunus, A. M. (2026). Negotiating faith in a hospital bed: A qualitative exploration of barriers to prayer (Solah) among hospitalised Muslim orthopaedic patients in Malaysia. Belitung Nursing Journal, 12(4), 485-497. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.4619
Yousofvand, V., Nikchereh, S., Esmaieli, R., Shirinabadi Farahani, A., & Azizi Mahkooyeh, S. (2026). The effects of spiritual interventions on sleep quality among patients with chronic diseases: A systematic review of interventional studies. Journal of Religion and Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-026-02798-w
What the NURS 220 Week 2 instructions ask
NURS 220 sets the Concise Writing Assignment in Module/Week 2, alongside chapters of the APA manual, chapters 2 and 3 of the Patterson text, two presentations, the second worldview checkpoint, two APA exercises and the group covenant. The guide asks for a 250- to 300-word essay in current APA format summarizing the impact of addressing spiritual care appropriate to a patient's religious and cultural preferences. Because the goal is formal, succinct writing, the length range is tightly enforced, and no title page, abstract, outline or reference page is required. Every sentence must carry content, so plan the essay in three short paragraphs before drafting.
How this NURS 220 Week 2 example is built
The essay has three paragraphs and no headings, which suits its length. The first states the claim that spiritual care is part of nursing care and gives one piece of evidence about its effect in serious illness. The second describes, through a single qualitative study, how hospital routines can block religious practice and why fitting care to the person's tradition matters. The third gives three concrete nursing actions and closes with the overall impact. In-text citations in APA style support the claims; a reference list is included on this page so readers can check the sources, though the assignment itself does not require one. Every sentence is counted, so the essay contains no introduction or conclusion beyond what its claim needs.
NURS 220 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go
Concise essays are generally graded on staying within 250 to 300 words, answering the prompt directly, formal academic tone, clear organization, accurate content and correct APA style for any citations. Because length is tightly enforced, faculty count words, and an essay at 310 or 240 words loses points regardless of quality. They also look for economy: no repeated ideas, no filler phrases such as "it is important to note" and no paragraph that restates the introduction. A focused claim, one or two strong pieces of evidence and specific nursing actions show the succinct style the assignment is designed to build. Faculty also notice whether the essay respects the diversity of faiths patients bring, rather than assuming one tradition.
NURS 220 Week 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Write a first draft without counting, then cut. Remove filler phrases, repeated points and any sentence that only restates another. Replace vague words with precise ones: "ask about prayer times" says more than "be sensitive to religious needs." Keep three paragraphs: claim and evidence, an example and actions with impact. Use first-person sparingly or not at all in formal writing. Count the words in the body only, as the assignment does, and check that you are between 250 and 300. Read the essay aloud once; any sentence you stumble over can usually be shortened. Finally, check every citation against its source, since a short essay leaves no room for an unsupported claim.
Related NURS 220 sample papers
Other NURS 220 weeks
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- NURS 220 Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 1
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- NURS 220 Week 6: Discussion Board Forum 3
- NURS 220 Week 7: Self-Plan of Care Paper
- NURS 220 Week 8: Discussion Board Forum 4
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NURS 220 Week 2 questions, answered
What is the NURS 220 Concise Writing Assignment?
A 50-point Module/Week 2 essay of 250 to 300 words in APA format summarizing the impact of spiritual care that fits a patient's religious and cultural preferences.
Where can I find a free NURS 220 Week 2 sample paper?
Read a complete 289-word NURS 220 Week 2 concise essay on spiritual care fitted to the patient on this page, free of charge.
Does the NURS 220 concise essay need a title page?
No. A title page, abstract, outline and reference page are not required; the focus is a formal, succinct essay held tightly to 250 to 300 words.
Why does spiritual care matter in nursing?
Patients facing illness often draw on faith for meaning and coping, and evidence links attention to spiritual needs with better quality of life and care that matches their values.
How can nurses provide culturally appropriate spiritual care?
By asking patients about their beliefs and practices, accommodating needs such as prayer times, diet and modesty and referring to chaplains or faith leaders when patients wish.
Use it as a model, or ask for your own
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