Although Jesus illustrated the point time and again, the medical profession is just now acknowledging the impact that ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of patients can have in the recovery process.
Until recently medical and nursing schools left the spiritual side of patient care up to churches, clergy and the individual — taking the position of neutrality and personal choice in matters pertaining to religious conviction.
A growing trend in the reversal of this policy is taking root in medical institutions across the nation. Fifty medical schools have included courses on religion, spirituality and health in their curricula, according to the National Institute for Healthcare Research in Rockville, Md. Since 1995 this nonprofit organizations has awarded 19 grants worth $25,000 each to help schools establish spirituality courses, and according to spokesman Dan Kauffman, “interest is continuing to grow.”
Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, in conjunction with the University of Tennessee, offers a course geared to educate health care professionals in training about spirituality in medicine. The course, “Awareness of Spirituality in the Treatment of Patients,” was developed by the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation Pastoral Care department and was made possible by a grant from the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation.
“The course is designed to have a positive impact on the medical environment as it will enable health care professionals in training to gain knowledge in an area that is critically important to the overall care of patients,” said David Drumel, vice president for pastoral care.
“It also serves as a means whereby health care professionals in training who have a personal religious commitment can interact with an intellectually and clinically grounded curriculum enabling them to integrate their faith with their scientific knowledge and professional role in a way that enhances a patient’s well-being,” he said.
The course was developed after studies revealed that not only does a patient’s faith directly impact his or her positive health outcome, but many patients desire religion to be a part of their clinical care.
“With the influence of religious beliefs on medical care, physicians need to be educated as to when and how to assess patients’ religious beliefs and how to help patients incorporate their faith in their medical care,” Drumel said.
Recently the University of Mobile’s School of Nursing held a one day continuing education workshop for nurses in the area and the attendees encouraged the faculty to make it a permanent course.
The workshop focused on how to identify a patient’s spiritual needs and what role a nurse can play in helping to meet those needs.
“In our nursing curriculum we teach our students that they are dealing with a biological, psychological, social and spiritual being. If they miss caring for any aspect of that person they are not giving their patient complete care,” said Rosemary Adams, dean of the School of Nursing. “In all of our nursing courses we teach some objective that relates to the spiritual care of patients,” she added.
For the past five years Samford University has been offering a course that was initially offered as an elective.
“The course, ‘Cultural and Spiritual Aspects of Nursing Practice’ was so well received by the students that they recommended we make it a requirement,” said the School of Nursing’s dean, Marian Baur.
According to the curriculum description: The focus of the course is to provide a cultural/spiritual foundation for professional nursing practice.
The influence of the nurse’s background on client care is explored through self-assessment.
“The spiritual needs of patients and the role of the nursing professional has always been an important part of our curriculum,” she concluded.
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