-by Heidi Byron
Amidst the rigor of pre-medical and medical professional classes, students at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) enrolled in the Biomedicine Program are delving deep into the bioethics involved with practicing medicine. Interwoven between our technical courses are interdisciplinary seminars aimed at giving future medical professionals a chance to wrestle with difficult ethical issues before being released into the medical world. One topic we explored that captures public interest is bringing the spiritual health of patients into the medical appointment. Several studies have examined the preferences of patients and doctors alike, and most agree that there is a time and place for spiritual or religious discussion in the doctor-patient relationship. Although both sides are open to having this discussion, in practice these topics seldom come up.1 Most people want better health, less disease, greater inner peace, a sense of meaning, and satisfaction in their lives.2 Therefore, if spiritual and religious beliefs are part of what makes up the entire happy, healthy, whole person, then why go so far to ignore it?
To delve deeper, I went outside the program to ask three individuals the same questions. The answers are from two prospective patients, and one medical professional. This is by no means a formal study, but their unprompted opinions are very interesting to this topic.
“I think that being open to sharing about your beliefs would be a beautiful experience with doctors. To think that they would be interested holistically in every aspect of my life would be a pretty special experience. Obviously, this may only come about after knowing and developing a trusting relationship with the doctor, in order to feel freedom to discuss beliefs… Do I think doctors should discuss personal beliefs with their patients? Yes! But to many I could see this may not be ethical or could be seen by some as unprofessional to the service that they are trained to offer.”
~ Anonymous Prospective Patient, from TN
“I think sometimes it’s easy to overlook that a doctor’s job is primarily about taking care of people and creating relationships with the humans that seek and choose us for their health services. With this in mind, our patients come to us with specific needs and questions given our professional title and education – they are not seeking us out for religious or spiritual guidance. Therefore, I believe doctors should be professional first and foremost and present themselves as such by refraining from asking about such beliefs during initial consults. I also believe that every human deserves to be treated as an individual, and so, I think we need to approach them as individuals and if the natural conversation comfortably leads to this topic, then so be it…
Once a professional relationship is established between a doctor and a patient, I think that rules about the conversations are less important than the connection of being an honest and caring individual in the moment of working with our patients. If a patient asks about our personal beliefs, then I think it is fine to discuss or answer their questions however we are comfortable. In fact, getting to know each other could be a very important part of patient’s experience, while others would prefer to keep things less personal – it’s all about treating patients as individuals, each with a unique set of needs and feelings, while respecting the primary purpose for our relationship.”
~ Anonymous Medical Professional, from CA
“There is no doubt that there is a mind-body connection in healing, and there is no question that prayer works. It would be just plain sensible for medical practitioners to ask if someone had a spiritual practice, because for many that augments the healing process. Not a question about a Christian, Jewish, or Druidic practice, but a spiritual practice. Belief is belief.”
~ Anonymous Prospective Patient, from MD
There you have it. Three different perspectives, from three different backgrounds. All, surprisingly, open to the idea of bringing personal beliefs into their medical care (of course under their own conditions). We all live amongst cultural norms and boundaries; however the idea of treating the whole person—to include their personal beliefs—is a fascinating prospect. My hope is that this blog post does not push you in a certain direction, but rather provides you with the tools for a more open mind when it comes to entering the medical office.