Spirituality and Health

Abstract

Spirituality has played a role in health care for centuries, but by the early 20th century, technological advances in diagnosis and treatment overshadowed the more human element of medicine. In response, a core group of medical academics and practitioners launched a movement to reclaim medicine's spiritual roots, defining spirituality broadly as a search for meaning, purpose, and connectedness. This commentary describes the history of the field of spirituality and health-its origins, its furtherance through the Medical School Objectives Project, and its ultimate incorporation into the curricula of over 75% of U.S. medical schools. The diverse efforts in developing this field within medical education and in national and international organizations created a need for a cohesive framework. The National Competencies in Spirituality and Health-created at a consensus conference of faculty from seven medical schools and reported here for the first time-answered that need.Also reported are some of the first applications of these competencies-competency-linked curricular projects. This issue of Academic Medicine features articles from three of the participating medical schools as well as one from an additional medical school. This commentary also describes another competency application: the George Washington Institute of Spirituality and Health-Templeton Reflection Rounds initiative, known as G-TRR, which has provided clerkship students with the opportunity, through reflection on their patient encounters, to develop their own inner resources to address the suffering of others. This commentary concludes with the authors' proposals for future directions for the field.

Religion, Spirituality, and the Hidden Curriculum: Medical Student and Faculty Reflections

“…Resources may include ideals presented within medical education curricula 28,30–32,38 and embodied practices created by particular communities. 5 From this perspective, religion/spirituality may have an additional protective effect against the HC.…”

“…Because deep structures embedded within the HC are not easily altered, local and incremental approaches that include partners operating inside 28 and outside of medicine may be needed to foster virtues and pass on to trainees the heart of medicine. 7 One important approach has attempted to increase attention to spirituality as a critical resource within medical education.…”

“…7 One important approach has attempted to increase attention to spirituality as a critical resource within medical education. 28–32 Another promising approach suggested by Kinghorn et al 5,6,33 is to ground the ideals and virtues of medical professionalism within communities, which can form trainees to internalize the virtues necessary in caring for the ill. This view recognizes the socialization process, and consequently, requires creation of equally powerful social structures that internalize virtuous habits.…”

Spirituality and spiritual care in and around childbirth

“…For example in medicine spiritual competency linked curricular projects have been developed directing a new field in medical studies. 2 In nursing/midwifery education competencies in spiritual care have been reported as being provided in units of study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 46 However, there is a danger of reductionism rather than true holism, and for spiritual care to become meaningless.…”

“…1 Spirituality historically was integral to healthcare yet technological developments have gradually concealed these roots under other agendas. 2 Recently spirituality as a concept in healthcare has resurfaced and become a rapidly expanding area of researcher's focus. 3,4 Spirituality is becoming acknowledged as core to our humanness; an aspect of our being that provides access to self-fulfilment, peace and ability to meet the challenges in healthcare.…”