Tulane in Houston
Page 6 Medical Journal - Houston
May 2016
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INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
Spirituality and medicine
BY VICTOR S . SIERPINA , MD , ABFM , ABIHM , Director , Medical Student Education Program , WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professor of Integrative Medicine , Professor , Family Medicine University of Texas Distinguished Teaching Professor
I walked away from my medical school interview with the Dean at the University of Illinois Abraham Lincoln School of oddly peaceful and believed deep in my heart that this was my direction , my energy , my path . It was an altruism rooted in faith that had delivered me from a number of foolish adolescent transgressions and more . Whatever was to come , at least I had stated my truth on my path .
However , the intersection of spirituality and medicine remains challenging .
“ Religious and spiritual beliefs and practices are important in the lives of many patients , yet medical students , residents , and physicians are often uncertain about
Tulane in Houston
Medicine in 1975 with both a sinking and an elated feeling . Perhaps it was standard there at the time for the Dean himself to meet with students interviewing for admission , or perhaps only with certain students . I was clueless which was probably helpful to my anxiety level . In any case , during our interview , he asked why I wished to become a physician . I told him truthfully that God had called me to the healing arts as a profession , and that I hoped to enter into medical missionary work . I remember him shaking his head during the interview while rendering his opinion that being a doctor and dealing with patients ’ spiritual issues gave “ too much power ” over their lives . He did not think it would work . Bad idea , he thought .
Ouch , so much for my medical school interview ! In fact , I was accepted and graduated , class of 1979 . The Dean , despite his disagreement with my stated motivations , apparently did not hold them against me . That sinking feeling , you now understand . Elated ? Well , I actually felt whether , when , or how , to address spiritual or religious issues . Physicians in previous times were trained to diagnose and treat disease and had little or no training in how to relate to the spiritual side of the patient . In addition , professional ethics requires physicians to not impinge their beliefs on patients who are particularly vulnerable when seeking health care . Complicating it further , in our nation ’ s culture of religious pluralism , there is a wide range of belief systems ranging from atheism , agnosticism , to a myriad assortment of religions and spiritual practices . No physician could be expected to understand the beliefs and practices of so many differing faith communities . “ ( TR McCormick 2014 )
Cartesian dualism that spirit and body are two separate entities was a devil ’ s bargain between the organized church and emerging science in the 1700 ’ s . The artificial division of authority continues to infect our paradigm of healing to this day and impedes our solving the challenges
Please see INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE page 16