A patient’s perspective on the importance of teaching spiritual competencies... - Eric Nelson

At the 2016 Stanford Medicine X conference, I moderated a discussion that considered the importance of teaching spiritual competencies to medical students (attached). Participants included a physician turned chaplain/medical educator, a professor of medical humanities, a holistic physician, and a clinical psychologist/mind-body research scientist.

Although I was the only one without an M.D. or a Ph.D. after my name, I am someone who has been cared for and benefited by doctors and nurses who I would consider spiritually competent.

For the last five years, I’ve also written about the link between spirituality and health from my perspective as a Christian Scientist. As part of this work I’ve interviewed a number of prominent physicians, psychologists and researchers, including Dean Ornish, Founder of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute; Margaret Chesney, Director of UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine; and Emma Seppala, Science Director of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.

In one of my columns, published on KevinMD.com (attached), I referenced the work of Dr. Harvey Chochinov. Whenever he meets a new patient, Chochinov likes to ask, “What should I know about you as a person to help me take the best care of you that I can?” It’s a question he has found helps both patient and doctor dial in to their innate spirituality, and in so doing, promote better health.

Even if spirituality is a word the patient is not accustomed to using or a subject the physician is averse to addressing, it doesn’t make it any less relevant. Defined by the American Academy of Family Physicians as “the way you find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in your life,” spirituality is something that concerns all of us.

The good news is that health care professionals are beginning to recognize the unique role they play in addressing the complexities of their patients’ lives, their fears, even their capacity to maintain a sense of connection with the divine during times of crisis. Although tending to such needs has long been considered the domain of chaplains and clergy, studies confirm that there is both the demand and the opportunity for this responsibility to be shared by everyone involved with the care of patients.

I found this to be true when, as a teenager, I was airlifted to a hospital following a serious accident. My injuries included two broken legs, a broken hand, internal injuries, and extensive cuts and bruises to my face. Although I don’t recall anyone on the medical staff asking me if there was anything they needed to know about me as a person in order to take better care of me, I found them to be both respectful and responsive to my spiritual needs. And with good results.

It’s this story that I’d like to share at the Stanford Medicine X | Ed conference in order to illustrate both the importance and the benefit of doctors and nurses making a conscious effort to honor the spirituality of their patients.