Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity
Grand Canyon University
HLT-310V
September 19, 2013
Abstract
As a heath care provider it is important to assess our patient’s faith. To a lot of people faith and spirituality play a large part in their overall health and healing. Health care providers cannot be expected to know about every kind of faith in the world but assessing and talking with patients regarding their personal beliefs will help with understanding more about patients and their view on their health. To better understand three of the world’s very popular religions this writer will discuss the spiritual perspective on healing, the critical components of healing, and what is important to people of a particular
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As said before a patient may practice Shinto in conjunction with another religion such as Buddhism and even Christianity. The spiritual perception of healing in regards to Shintoism is that health is associated with purity. The critical components of healing may include ritual cleansing, prayer or other spiritual practices from combining religions with Shintoism. An important thing for healthcare workers to be aware of when caring for a patient of the Shinto faith is that death and illness are considered impure and it may be difficult to have a conversation regarding end of life care (Queensland Health, 2011). The four affirmations of Shinto can help health care providers understand the Shinto faith. These affirmations include: tradition and the family, family is considered the foundation for maintaining traditions; love of nature, Shinto holds nature sacred; ritual purity, this includes ritual bathing to spiritually and physically cleanse before entering a shrine to worship the kami; matsuri, which is the worshipping and honoring of the kami and ancestral spirits (BBC Religions, 2013).
The last religion that this writer will discuss is Buddhism. Buddhism is a twenty five hundred year old religion with approximately three hundred seventy six million followers (BBC Religions, 2013). Countries in which Buddhism is most popular include China, Tibet, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand (BBC Religions, 2013). Buddhists spiritual perception of healing
Cultural diversity in the health care setting is increasing each year. Knowing how to care for patients of different religious and spiritual faiths is essential to providing high-quality, patient-centered care. The author of this paper will research three lesser-known religions; Taoism, Sikhism and Shamanism. Through this paper, she will provide a brief background on each of the three religions and present information regarding spiritual perspectives on healing, critical components of healing and health care considerations associated with each religion.
Worldview is regarded as the crucial basis of reality and is dominant among culture. It consists of classes, norms as well as values that provide an overview by which is observed as an overview that people use to examine the universe. As a result of unique wide perspective associated with worldview that everybody has, there are evidences of similarities within communities, family setups and among the culture. (Shelly, 2006). Worldview can also be influenced by the spiritual nature of individuals as this requires a consideration so as to take a person’s holistic care. These postmodern and scientific models of philosophy are the current factor that hinders the total spiritual approval in healthcare. Faith in me
Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are
The United States has always been the symbol of freedom of religion and health care today has needed to increase its knowledge in incorporating the many different religions/spiritual beliefs in order to provide a more holistic approach to care. As health care providers we should not look in validating our own practice in regards to religion or spirituality but to comprehend and learn to see the patterns of similarities and differences in order to provide holistic care to our patients. As religious and spiritual beliefs are never permanent and are constantly changing and/or influenced by government, thinkers, historical events, technology and the shifting values of cultures the study of religions/spirituality should be continuous for all health care providers. The Native American, Buddhism, and Sikhism have some similar traits and values imbedded in their practiced religions that resemble the Christian Faith and medical providers needs to be aware and able to accommodate them in order to provide holistic care.
This paper provides a comprehensive look at the following faiths: Buddhism, Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity. The reader will find that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion that focuses on the mind as being the creator of illness and health. The reader will also find that Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity are all religions that believe in one God, the creator of all. This paper lists various components that each of these faiths may use at one time or another to effect healing including prayer, meditation, chanting, the use of healers, etc. This paper also defines what is important to people
As heath care providers we need to keep mindful of the care we provide to several different religious traditions. It is up to the health care professional to respect and understand the ideals that affect our patients and their family members. In this paper we will compare the philosophies of three diverse faiths. The faiths chosen are Islam, Christian Science and Buddhism, and how they compare to Christianity. We will learn about basic beliefs, spiritual perspectives on healing, and the components of healing such as meditation, prayer and other rituals they follow. Furthermore,
The spiritual significance of illness and suffering is a topic Christians continue to grapple with, as Larchet points out in The Theology of Illness. Scripture offers a wealth of wisdom and cues for understanding illness, health, and healing from a Christian perspective. Larchet analyzes the various and often contradictory Christian positions on health and illness, revealing how attitudes have shifted over time and with changes in medical technology, practice, and ethics. For example, St. Barsanuphius presents a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual significance of illness and suffering. One view holds that illness signifies a lack of faith; another presents illness in terms of a person who is offered the opportunity to develop a stronger faith, or whose faith is being put to a test like the story of Job. Ultimately, the latter remains the most helpful way to approach illness and healing from a Christian perspective. The essence of Christian health care is that, "Healing itself, while resulting from natural processes, actually comes from God," (Larchet 116).
We reflecting the author’s own culture, she like many people in the United States are a blend of many different cultures and ethnicity. By not having one single ethnic culture her family views health traditions based on their religion of Christian Scientist. Being raised in this religion molded views of health promotion, prevention and treatment that influence her health behaviors today. There is a difference of opinion between Christian Science and traditional medical views. “Christian Scientist interpret disease from a spiritual view where medicine interprets disease from a material point of view” (Stoddard, 2010). As a child our family was raised with the belief that good nutrition, physical activity, and the role of positive thinking and mind over matter, would provide health and help us remain strong and healthy. Not having over the counter medications or turning to traditional medicine for simple medical issues was chosen as our families way of viewing illness. Growing up with the view of health and illness as spiritual using techniques such as meditation, prayer and positive thinking, has stayed as a health tradition among our families beliefs and practices to this day. Today modern medicine is looking at the mind as a valuable tool to prepare persons and bodys for wellness and rehabilitation. An example of this would be biofeedback. This is a technique where people are
Christianity and Buddhism are two religions that believe very differently from one another. They have a different god; believe differently about how the world was created, what humans are and how we evolved. They have different beliefs on what happens after one dies, how we know what we know, and how we know right from wrong. These two religions even have a different idea on what we are supposed to achieve or do during our life time. Due to these differences, people of these religions have a different spiritual perspective on healing and they would like to be cared for by the doctors and nurses in different ways.
For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and
This is the guiding truth that she uses each day in the hospital setting that allows her to freely accept people of all faiths and support their personal journey toward healing. When asked about her spiritual perspective on healing she was very comfortable with her answer. She said “absolutely, God does heal.” She feels from a Sikh perspective that there is a balance in the soul and that the person who is ill must be willing to let go to receive. It is a type of faith, that the person seeking healing, beyond their ability to understand. As a caregiver she states “being a Sikh makes me one with most religions, because I believe we all are of the same God and it is His healing that they seek.
In both Buddhism and Christianity, there are critical component of healing such as prayers, meditation, belief and yoga. In holistic medical care, the medical personnel must take care of all aspect of the patient which includes the body, the emotions and the spiritual. The doctors and nurses should ensure that that they offer all necessary support that is
A healing hospital is a healing community providing radical loving care (Journal of Sacred Work, 2009) in a safe environment that focuses on human interaction, interpersonal caring and enhancing the wellbeing of patients, caregivers, and all other members of the healing community. While a healing hospital is, of course, dedicated to providing excellent medical care to its patients (Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, 2012), it is also dedicated to integrating work design and technology (Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, 2012), and ultimately to the overall wellness of every healing community member. Using physical healing, education and supportive human interaction, this care model seeks healing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels for everyone involved in the process (Zarren, n.d., pp. 1-2). The success of this model requires the cooperation of every
This demands us to be very knowledgeable about different beliefs and religions and accept them as they are. Compared to Christianity, the philosophies of Buddhism have quite of diverse beliefs surrounding health, healing, illness, and death. As a spiritual perspective, the author will provide information about each of these faiths. Also, she will focus on their beliefs on meditation, healing, prayer, rituals, and their views on the afterlife. By knowing what is important for the patients in their faith will help us health care providers to treat them with respect and dignity.
Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat