Religion and Healthcare
Chaplains like Butler provide existential support to patients who perhaps did not expect to be where they were or those needing comforting. With the growing awareness of spiritual practices among patients, more patients want their care providers to have the knowledge and a better understanding of their spiritual beliefs to heal better and understand patients’ decision-making. Therefore, if a patient is a Catholic, Muslim, or Pentecostal Christian or any religion, Butler relates to them in their spiritual levels. Spirituality plays a vital role in a patient’s life, including their interpretations of either falling sick or becoming better. For example, the patient who fears God is punishing him by making him sick, Butler listened to his fears and asked him to forgive himself. If a patient is feeling powerless and unworthy, it might interfere with the treatment offered. Butler uses the patient’s spiritual beliefs to pray for peace together and help with the medical outcomes. Evidence shows that attending to the patient’s spiritual desires allows the Chaplins and healthcare providers to understand them better.
Preaching and praying with a dying person has proven to be effective. Chaplains tend to model ways of providing care in the spiritual domain once he/she learns of the patient’s beliefs. Providing spiritual care creates trust between the two. The patient becomes comfortable sharing her/his vulnerabilities while the physician uses the spirituality to improve upon patients’ care and spiritual state. Patients and physicians relationship is essential as it places providers in a unique and better position to promote health. Spirituality relates to the health of the patients and also helps physicians provide culturally competent care.
Families request Butler for prayers for loved ones, and she honors their traditions. She listens. If the family are Muslims, she says the Shahada. If they are not religious, she also respects that and says a neutral blessing. Care providers should always keep an open ear for any suggestion or recommendation of faith and spiritual practices as it might promote the health of the patients (Brémault-Phillips et al., 486). Patients in Mount Sinai refer to Chaplains as angels of death because they often bear bad news or last rites, but communication with them leaves them feeling safe, understood, and respected. Brémault-Phillips et al. mention that most patients facing end-of-life diseases prefer having their spiritual issues addressed by their physicians because it helps ease spiritual pain and distress. Chaplains in Mount Sinai help the dying and the recovering by providing spiritual support, which works well within the hospital.
Markedly, patients and families recognize that spirituality is essential and prefer when their spiritual issues are addressed and integrated into treatment. Encouraging patients to share their spirituality concerns improves their comfort level in the created relationship with the physicians. An understanding of spirituality allows Chaplains to diagnose patients’ inner resources of strength and identify any spiritual distress. As the patient and Chaplin talk about faith, it helps in understanding and finding meaning in the patient experiences and becomes easier to offer both emotional and spiritual support. The inclusion of spirituality in Mount Sinai creates an opportunity for the patient and caregiver to develop a collaboration because the two form a common ground on care provision. Therefore engaging spiritual needs in medical treatment enhances patient’s experience, promotes opportunities for both parties to develop their spirituality, and ensures connectedness. After Butler communicates with the patients on a spiritual level, they feel appreciated.
Works Cited
Brémault-Phillips, Suzette, et al. “Integrating spirituality as a key component of patient care.” Religions 6.2 (2015): 476-498.