Spirituality and religiosity: knowledge of medical students

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge of medical students about spirituality and religiosity in relation to patient care. It is an exploratory, descriptive, quantitative research, based on Spirituality and Brazilian Medical Education, developed in two Medical Schools of Ceará, Brazil. A total of 437 medical students answered a questionnaire, which was processed by descriptive analysis. The results showed that medical students know the meaning and relevance of spirituality and religiosity in the patient care process, however, they do not feel ready to approach the matter in a more complete way because of limitations in academic training. It is concluded that these students need to learn more about the subject for an effective approach to the patient and, therefore, it is important that medical schools add this subject to their curricula.