About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

27 Med. & L. 229 (2008)
Is Spirituality Relevant to the Practice of Medicine

handle is hein.journals/mlv27 and id is 251 raw text is: Med Law (2008) 27:229-239 Medicine and Law CYOZMOT 2008 Health Law IS SPIRITUALITY RELEVANT TO THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE? A-Missagh Ghadirian* Abstract: The interrelationship between spirituality and medical science has been looked upon with suspicion for centuries. While in ancient societies medicine and religion were intertwined, in the West separation between these two since the Middle Ages has created a wall of mistrust which undennined the relationship. During the last two decades, however, there has been an upsurge of interest in the role of spirituality in medical practice in North American universities. There are a number of reasons for this development. They include an increasing number of patients particularly those with life threatening or chronic diseases who expect their spiritual concerns to be acknowledged and addressed. Furthermore, the unprecedented increase in medical technology has diminished the need for medical practitioners to provide compassionate care and has raised the awareness of physicians of the danger of dehumanization of medical institutions. Consequently, medical education programmes in a growing number of medical schools have begun to implement courses encouraging the integration of spirituality and medicine. Keywords: Spirituality; medicine; healing; treatment; integration; religion; compassionate care; dehumanization; technology INTRODUCTION The rapid explosion of knowledge and progress of science has made unprecedented advancement in the field of medicine. Armed with modem technology, physicians have focused on conquering illnesses with enormous success. But is treating the disease the same as healing the person? Have we * Professor, Faculty ofMedicine, McGill University, Emeritus Physician, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada 229

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most