The International Council of Nurses underscores the importance of integrating spirituality into holistic nursing care, advocating for the recognition and respect of individuals’ spiritual beliefs and values. Addressing this need, the European project EPICC (Enhancing Nurses’ and Midwives’ Competence in Providing Spiritual Care through Innovative Education and Compassionate Care) promotes the development of spiritual care competencies within nursing curricula. In Portugal, however, the integration of spiritual care education in undergraduate nursing programmes remains inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a digitally mediated pedagogical intervention, based on the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard, in enhancing spiritual care competencies among undergraduate nursing students in Portugal. This quasi-experimental study, conducted in partnership with the University of South Wales during the first semester of 2024, employed a non-equivalent control group pre-test and post-test design to evaluate the impact of implementing the EPICC matrix. A total of 36 undergraduate nursing students from a Portuguese nursing school participated in a hybrid course, using a digital tool to support learning. The EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard and the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool, both translated, validated, and culturally adapted into European Portuguese, were utilised to measure outcomes. A significant improvement in self-reported competencies across all four EPICC domains: Intrapersonal Spirituality, Interpersonal Spirituality, Spiritual Care Assessment and Planning, and Spiritual Care Intervention and Evaluation were demonstrated. Course satisfaction was reported by 80.5% of participants, usability of the digital resource by 77.7%, and 94.4% indicated they would recommend the course to others. The study demonstrates the potential of the EPICC framework to enhance spiritual care competencies among nursing students. These results support the integration of evidence-based spiritual care education into Portuguese undergraduate nursing curricula, facilitated through digital pedagogical approaches. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-025-03805-3.

Spiritual care is an essential dimension of holistic care. The purpose of this study was to identify the explicit presence of spiritual care in undergraduate nursing curricula in Portugal. Data were collected through a search in the syllabuses of undergraduate nursing degrees as displayed on the websites of higher education institutions (HEI). Of the 36 HEI, none had a course unit entitled (with title or subtitle) spirituality or spiritual care, even though all the HEI describe a common mission related to preparing nursing students for holistic care.

The study of spirituality in nursing education has become an emerging academic field, making it important to understand its evolution using bibliometric indicators. To achieve this, a search was conducted on July 8, 2024, using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Titles and abstracts were screened in Rayyan, and data analysis was performed using Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny in the R language. A total of two hundred thirty documents published between 1981 and 2024 were included. The United States contributed the most publications (n = 70), and Wilfred McSherry was the most prolific author, with 16 publications and the highest h-index. Nurse Education Today was the journal with the most publications. Transition themes identified include spiritual competence and spiritual care education.

Spirituality and spiritual care are integral to holistic healthcare, requiring collaboration among healthcare and chaplains or other religious professionals. The European Association for Palliative Care highlights the multidimensional nature of spiritual care, with the EPICC project advancing nursing education in this area. Integrating technology into spiritual care education should be considered for nursing curricula. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology, this review maps evidence on using digital technology and online tools in spiritual care education and training. The literature search was conducted on CINHAL Complete, Medline Complete, PubMed, and Web of Science (2010–2024). Thirteen reports across various countries were included, involving nurses, medical professionals, chaplains, and other healthcare students/professionals. Findings indicate the available technology and online tools in spiritual care education and training and how their incorporation in curricula can enhance the overall learning experience.

Background: Spiritual care is a dynamic and multifaceted concept. The EPICC project, launched to improve nurses' competence in spiritual care through innovative education, supports this approach. The EPICC framework includes several tools and resources with the Spiritual Care Education Standard as the core tool. Aim: Translation, validation and cross‐cultural adaptation of the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard into European Portuguese language and culture. Methods: Validation study using the Cross‐Cultural Adaptation method. This method involves a six‐step framework: translation, synthesis, back‐translation, review by the expert panel ( n = 6), pre‐testing, and concluding with the submission and approval of all documents by the original instrument authors and the expert panel. EQUATOR checklist: GRRAS. Ethical Issues and Approval: Doctoral research project (approved by the Ethics Committee on 19 July 2023). Results: The data were collected between November 2023 and April 2024 and showed 100% agreement and a Content Validity Index (CVI) of 1 for all items among experts. The pre‐test, collected in May 2024, with 39 nursing students showed 90% agreement and minimal response variability among the items. Conclusions: The study successfully adapted the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard to European Portuguese, highlighting the need for ongoing investment in spiritual care education in nursing curricula. Implications: This study highlights the importance of students' spiritual care competencies in nursing education and practice, emphasising their integration into curricula and the ongoing relevance of healthcare policy in supporting this dimension of holistic care.