Should my doctor be my pastor?

John Q. Physician, MD, C.O.G. (called of God)

This topic touches on the separation of church and state as well as the separation/integration of science and religion. We should be aware about the degree that the general populous is legislatively coerced to monetarily support religion (through taxes and insurance premiums.) Popular press is saying patients are demanding "spiritual" care from the health care system. I don't get it: I don't talk to my city councilman about treating gout, I don't call an accountant when my furnace breaks down, but when I'm terminal, I'll solicit my doctor about the meaning of life?

Mortality and death (the realm of religion) are inseparable from health and cure so these may be unfair analogies. When I was working as a home health visiting nurse I often saw the patient who qualified for Hospice (less than six months to live) but refused the service, sometimes out of denial , refusal to "give up," or other lack of understanding or misunderstanding. In circumstances like this patients as well as family members can literally cling to the visiting nurse (or even the nurse's aid) for help and discussion on spiritual matters. The nurse's role in these situations can probably be defined but it can no more be a complete preaching of the Word of God than a complete refusal to acknowledge and address the situation.

Should we qualify nurses and physicians to discuss religion and expect them to present it without dumping in personal faith convictions? Do we start separating out PAYMENT for them to do this? Will this approach satisfy the patient's demands? Do we use public or insurance funds to pay religious representatives for any apparent need for spiritual discussion with patients and families?

I say don’t wait until you get sick, or qualify for Hospice to start thinking about your own mortality. Make sure you have an inner support structure of beliefs or ideals as well as external support structure of people you trust to help you through difficult times. Will this guarantee an easier time if/when circumstance comes along? No, but the odds are favorable.

Discussions of mortality, death, and in many cases morbidity are a part of healthcare, but our current empirical understanding limits the course of the discussion to the theory that they are absolute. Anything beyond this is the discussion of religion (and pseudoscience). We are unwise to expect our health care system address our spiritual ailments along with physical ones. We are unwise to look to science or a healthcare system to fill mankinds need for religion. Shame on those that would look, or have anyone look to government to provide, endorse, and/or pay for our religion.