Volume 178 - Issue 8
Religion, spirituality and health
Author: Alan J Gijsbers
Med J Aust 2003; 178 (8): 416. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05273.x
Published online: 21 April 2003
Published online: 21 April 2003
To the Editor: The recent articles about spirituality and health1,2 provide a welcome discussion about the very soul of medicine as well as the soul of the individual healthcare practitioner. If spirituality is "whatever is left over when the doctor, social worker, psychologist, community education officer or psychiatrist have had a go",3 then indeed spiritual questions should be left to the particular expert on that fragment of the person.
However, if spirituality is the integration of every aspect of the person, the plumbing of depth, the search and discovery of meaning and purpose, the exercise of compassion and love often in relation to the divine,4 then our whole practice of medicine needs to be spiritually conceived and executed, both for our patients and for ourselves. We need to pause and reflect on the quality of our care of ourselves as well as of our patients.5 We need to rescue healthcare delivery from the reductionism of a mere science of "fixing bits" according to economic criteria. We need to deliver healthcare with humanity, compassion and wisdom. Some would include godliness. This is not an optional extra, but the core of true healthcare, in which each of us will need to freely contribute, without imperialism, from the depths of our own spiritual journey.
References
- Peach HG. Religion, spirituality and health: how should Australia's medical professionals respond? Med J Aust 2003; 178: 86-88. BABCJFFJ
- Koenig HG. Religion, spirituality and health: an American physician's response [editorial]. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 51-52. BABIFEFB
- Sherlock C. The doctrine of humanity. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996; 222. BABICGFD
- Gijsbers AJ. Science and spirituality: enemies or allies in the delivery of health care? Luke's Journal Supplement 2002; August. Available at: http://www.cmdfa.org.au/lukes/2002sciencespirit.html (accessed Jan 2003).
- Van der Weyden M. Taking time out [From the Editor's desk]. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 49. BABJCFHE
Shifting focus to adolescent wellbeing and inclusive participation in the digital age
Allyson R Todd, Elena Wang, Stephanie R Partridge
The clinical presentation, investigation, and management of women diagnosed with endometriosis in Australian general practices, 2011–2021: an open cohort study
Danielle Mazza, Kailash Thapaliya, Sharinne B Crawford, Alissia Hui, Maryam Moradi, Luke E Grzeskowiak
The impact of the Breast Screen NSW transition from film to digital mammography, 2002–2016: a linked population health data analysis
Rachel Farber, Nehmat Houssami, Katy J L Bell
Non‐technical errors associated with deaths in surgical care, Australia, 2012–2019, by surgical specialty (Australian and New Zealand Audit of Surgical Mortality): a retrospective cohort study
Jesse Ey, Victoria Kollias, Octavia Lee, Kelly Hou, Matheesha Herath, John B North, Ellie Treloar, Suzanne Edwards, Martin Bruening, Adam J Wells, Guy J Maddern
The CURE Asthma roadmap
Gary P Anderson, Anthony Flynn, Phil G Bardin, John D Blakey, Shyamali C Dharmage, Paul Foster, Peter G Gibson, Adam Jaffe, Alan James, Christine R Jenkins, Sundram Sivamalai, Peter D Sly, Guy B Marks, Vanessa M McDonald, Judy Wetttenhall
Evidence from Australian cohort studies about asthma trajectories and transitions across the life course: a narrative review
Caroline Lodge, Xin Dai, Ingrid A. Laing, Michael P Menden, Anthony Flynn, Gary P Anderson, Sarath Ranganathan, Shyamali C Dharmage