Embracing Spirituality in Nursing: Lessons from Rabbi Irma Diaz on the RNegade Podcast

In a healthcare world that often prioritizes metrics over meaning, nurses stand at the sacred intersection of science and soul. In a recent episode of the RNegade Podcast, Rabbi Irma Diaz joined the conversation to explore how spirituality, human connection, and personal growth are not just “nice to have”—they are essential to healing.

Whether you're working in hospice, psych, acute care, or community health, this episode offers profound insights into how you can support others more fully by deepening your own spiritual awareness.

🩺Why Spirituality Matters in Healthcare

Many of us were trained to “treat the body”—but the truth is, the body doesn't heal in isolation. Rabbi Diaz reminds us that healing happens in relationship: to others, to ourselves, and to something greater.

She invites us to consider: What if your presence is the intervention?

When we listen without judgment, offer touch with intention, and honor the sacred in each life story, we become more than nurses—we become healers.

🔑Key Takeaways from the Episode

1. Spirituality is a Skill, Not Just a Belief

Spirituality isn’t reserved for chaplains or clergy. It’s a human capacity—a way of being present, curious, and compassionate. Rabbi Diaz speaks of the Ten Commandments not as rules, but as reminders of how to embody our highest self.

💡Try this: Start your shift with a simple intention. “Let me be a safe place today—for myself and for someone else.”

2. Connection Changes Brain Chemistry

Meaningful human connection releases oxytocin and serotonin—powerful biochemical allies in healing. When we create emotional safety, we’re also fostering physical resilience.

💡Try this: Practice deep listening. Put away the task list for a moment. Look someone in the eyes. Let them know you see them.

3. Your Story Is Sacred, Too

Rabbi Diaz shares her own journey from Catholicism to Judaism, through struggle, reinvention, and soul-searching. Her message? Our pain, when integrated, becomes wisdom. Our vulnerability, when shared, becomes medicine.

💡Try this: Reflect on a time you felt broken… and what it taught you. That story could be the bridge for someone else’s healing.

🧠For Psych and Hospice Nurses

This episode especially resonates with those caring for mental health or end-of-life journeys. In these roles, you are often the spiritual midwife—helping someone birth a new identity, or gently transition from this life.

Spiritual literacy gives you language, presence, and courage for the conversations no one else wants to have.

💡Try this: Normalize talking about purpose, meaning, and belief. Ask patients, “What gives your life meaning?” or “What brings you peace?”

💬A Word on Mental Health & Stigma

Rabbi Diaz also addresses the silence that often surrounds mental health in spiritual and caregiving communities. As nurses, we must dismantle the idea that struggle means weakness. It means we’re human.

💡Try this: Start a peer support circle in your unit or community. Healing starts with being seen.

🕊️From the Renegade Files: Becoming a Soulful Nurse

This episode reminds us that advancing our nursing practice isn’t just about new certifications or clinical knowledge. Sometimes, it’s about becoming more human, more whole, and more willing to bring all of ourselves into the room.

Because when nurses lead with soul, healthcare becomes sacred again.

🎧 Listen Now: Earn Nursing CEs for this episode
📚 Want more? Explore Rabbi Diaz’s podcast, Soul Synergy Network, for teachings that blend wisdom traditions with real-life care is coming to the RNegade Partner Podclass library Fall 2025.