PURPOSE: The World Health Organization identifies spiritual care as a component of health and thus nursing care. There is a need to identify how self-esteem, communication and existential well-being affects spiritual care competence in nurses. METHODS: The participants were 189 nurses in G metropolitan city. The survey was conducted from March 21 to April 8, 2016, with a self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: Differences in spiritual care competence were statistically significant according to education level, work department, position, having received spiritual care education, experience of providing spiritual care, experience of asking religionist to provide spiritual care for a patient and recognition of need for spiritual care. The spiritual care competence of nurses showed a significantly positive correlation with self-esteem, communication and existential well-being. Factors influencing spiritual care competence were communication, experience of providing spiritual care and existential well-being which explained about 37.5% of spiritual care competence. CONCLUSION: It's necessary for nurses to develop intervention programs to strengthen spiritual care competence through improving communication, providing opportunities for spiritual care and existential well-being.
Clinical Competence ; Education ; Humans ; Mental Competency* ; Nursing Care ; Self Concept ; World Health Organization

An allergy skin test is used to diagnose certain allergies by identifying sensitized allergens. In other words, it is a test for patients who are already sensitized to certain allergens. Because of the prevailing perception that beta-lactam allergy can be dangerous and potentially lethal, the intradermal test has long been routinely performed before use to screen beta-lactam allergy in Korea. The prevalence of penicillin allergy is estimated to be 1% to 2%. However, only 14% of the subjects with perceived penicillin allergy is considered to have true penicillin allergy. Moreover, it is difficult to justify performing a skin test on subjects who are very unlikely to be sensitized to beta-lactam, such as those who never used beta-lactam or never experienced allergy after previous use of beta-lactam.Therefore, allergists recommend beta-lactam skin testing in those who have allergy after the use of beta-lactam. Nevertheless, many hospitals in Korea are conducting routine skin tests on patients regardless of a history of beta-lactam allergy, which are not clinically validated but consume considerable human and material resources. False-positive results can consequently result in inappropriate labeling of beta-lactam allergy, leading to the unnecessary restriction of medication prescriptions and the increase in medical expenses. Herein, the drug allergy working group affiliated with the Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy, and Clinical Immunology announces an expert opinion on the preuse beta-lactam skin test for subjects without a history of beta-lactam allergy based on the objective evidence from the literature and clinical relevance.