Although the study design limits the generalizability of the findings, applications can be drawn for helping professionals and religious leaders who provide holistic care

Although conceptualizations of mind, body, and spirit are ancient, spiritual aspects have not been readily integrated into health care. Western medicine's mechanistic model, with its "fix-broken-parts" paradigm, focuses on the physical body, with occasional consideration given to emotional and mental aspects. One's view of self in relation to a Supreme Being, and one's existence and purpose for life is central to health at all levels, e.g., spiritual, physical, emotional, and cognitive. The purpose of this article is to describe the role that nurse practitioners can and should take with patients and their families in integrating spirituality into health care practice.

Despite the author's experiences as a nurse and parent of a young adult with physical disabilities, the author had much to learn about the culture surrounding disability. The contemporary "minority-group" model for disability replaces a medical model that views people with disabilities in need of remediation. Disability rights advocates often criticize health professionals, citing erroneous assumptions and failure to understand the perspectives of disabled persons. The author illustrates applications for clinical practice by health professionals with excerpts from a qualitative study that explored the spiritual experiences of adults with physical disabilities and family members as well as their responses to lived experience with disability.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 form the basis for this discussion of students with disabilities and the role played by community college faculty in promoting their success. After asserting the need to foster self-awareness in one's perceptions of those with disabilities, the author defines practices that ensure receptive classroom environments with examples of effective attitudes, behaviors, and language.

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