Spirituality: Living Our Connectedness
Margaret A. Burkhardt is Associate Professor Emerita, West Virginia University School of Nursing. She taught nursing and practiced holistic nursing care for more than thirty years, and is an active member of the American Holistic Nurses Association. A prolific writer, Dr. Burkhardt has published numerous articles and book chapters, as well as co-authoring two books on spirituality in health and ethics in nursing.Mary Gail Nagai-Jacobson, MSN, RN is director of Healing Matters in San Marcos, TX. She has practiced nursing in a variety of settings, including hospitals and long-term care institutions (medical-surgical, rehabilitation, oncology, psychiatric-mental health), and communitysettings (hospice, mental health). She has been especially interested in the meanings of the experiences of health and illness for individuals, families, and communities. She has presented workshops and published many articles on spirituality and healing, emphasizing the significance of relationships in the course of illness and healing that she has learned through both professional and personal experience. Through personal study and involvement in healing ministry, she explores and promotes more conscious spiritual living and the integration of spirituality into health care. She offers workshops, seminars, and consultation to nurses and others on spirituality and healing, caring for ourselves as spiritual beings, and integrating spirituality into healing practice.