Spirituality in Medicine Takes Flight at Northwest Center
In the spring of 2000, Melissa DeRosa, then a second-year student
at the Northwest Center for Medical Education in Gary, invited three
physicians - a Catholic, a Muslim and a Protestant - to informal
lunchtime sessions with fellow students to speak about their
religious beliefs and how they relate to patient care.
Melissa thought that her own beliefs would have an impact on her
patients and was curious about how other physicians dealt with this
issue.
Intrigued by her idea, Marshall Anderson, PhD, and I applied for
and received an education grant from IUSM's Office of Medical Student
Academic Affairs, expanded the program's scope and formality, and
offered it as a pilot program to the rest of the state's medical
students via videoconferencing.
In the first Spirituality in Medicine discussion, Dr. Fred Kobak,
a Jewish ob/gyn from Valparaiso, was asked whether the religious
beliefs of a patient had ever interfered with treatment. "Once,
on a consult," he recounted, "I discovered that an Orthodox
Jewish patient in the hospital had not eaten for four days because
she was sure the food was
not kosher." Dr. Kobak assured her that she could order kosher
food from the hospital cafeteria and the problem was solved.
At the second session, Dr. Robert Buynak, a Catholic physician
from Hobart, recounted difficulty in getting a history from a covered
Muslim woman. She was chaperoned by her husband, who did most of
the answering. When asked about her smoking history, she denied
having smoked. It turned out that she felt that it was improper
for a Muslim woman to talk about smoking to a stranger.
The students appear to find the sessions worthwhile. "Dr.
Kobak's and Dr. Buyak's experiences reinforced to us how a patient's
religious and cultural beliefs can affect the quality of care,"
notes Gregory Helbig, a second-year medical student at the Northwest
Center. Future sessions are scheduled with Hindu, Muslim and Jehovah's
Witness physicians.
As part of the new competency-based curriculum, now in its third
year at IUSM, students are expected to be self-aware and sensitive
to the needs of all patients. Focusing on their own spiritual beliefs
and those of their patients can only make them better and more well-rounded
doctors.
Patrick W. Bankston, PhD, is professor of anatomy and pathology
at the IUSM Northwest Center for Medical Education. Further information
about the Spirituality in Medicine program can be obtained by calling
(219) 980-6562 or by emailing Dr. Bankston at pbanks@iun.edu.
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