Surgeon as Priest Essay

Almond faced many long, cold nights as a traveling doctor in the mountains of West Virginia. He would travel lengthy routes to get to his patients in his little rag top jeep. There would even be times when he would have to get out of his jeep and walk, or row to the patients home. Dr. Almond would receive frantic calls from families in the middle of the night, and he’d spring out of bed to try to get there as fast as he could. Doctors who did house calls get little rest; they had worked all day and then got up in the middle of the night to go help a patient. “Just as one day has ended, another one has begun. And thus it goes, day in, day out, for many of our friends who earned the title “Doctor”, and all that word portends.”

From being a healer of bodily ailments, Saint Blaise became a physician of souls, then retired for a time, by divine inspiration, to a cavern where he remained in prayer. As bishop of Sebastea, Blaise instructed his people as much by his example as by his words, and the great virtues of the servant of God were attested by many miracles. From all parts, the people came to him for the cure of bodily ills.

Alvord uses her personal experiences of working as a Navajo surgeon to teach her readers the philosophies her people follow to heal. Her philosophy is that instead of looking at each patient as a mechanical system with each part separate, look at their mind, body and spirit as being connected. If one can do this, patient care will improve. She also touches upon being culturally competent in the work place by knowing your patient population’s beliefs on healing and health care. After reading her story, I believe that in order to be the best health care provider one must look into the spiritual aspects of their patients’ lives. As providers we must provide care using the biopsychosocial model of care and become knowledgeable on our patients beliefs. Like Alvord states within her story, we must walk in beauty, become harmoniously connected to those around us, and care for our patients in a positive

The story is about a priest who had lost his faith, yet continued to do his priestly duties because he felt obligated to help his people. The priest in the story is somewhat analogous to physicians in the sense that both feel an obligation to help others. In his final anecdote, the surgeon recalls on a time in medical school where he removed botfly larvae from a patient’s arm. He had thought that he’d performed a life-saving procedure, but realized that the problem would have cured itself. In this sense, the surgeon preaches

In Cutting for Stone Thomas Stone asks, “What treatment in an emergency is administrated by ear?” The correct answer is “Words of comfort.” Just this one statement encapsulates the books surprising take on medicine this question also reminds me of experiences I have had with doctors and hospitals. I will be discussing these topics along with how Cutting for Stone tells us about the roles of compassion, faith, and hop in medicine.

As Beneatha describes the profound moment when she decided to become a doctor, her admirable, although childlike, determination and refusal to set limits on her future is illustrated. Beneatha says while discussing her dream, “...that was what one person could do for another, fix him up-sew up the problem, make him alright again. That was the most marvelous thing in the world...I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know - and make them whole again. This was truly being God…” (131). As Beneatha describes her dream with conviction, it is apparent how the decision to pursue her dream was created with faith in the practice, unconcerned with the efforts

A doctor’s mind and heart are very much involved in the patient’s road to recovery. Evidence in support of this statement is shown in William Carlos William poem “ The Red Wheelbarrow, and his essay “The Practice.” Also, in Jack Coulehan poems “The Man with Stars Inside Him, The Six Hundred Pound Man,” and the article “What’s a good doctor and how do you make one?” Individually, each reading and poem has expressed doctor’s emotions with their patients, and what characteristics have guided them into becoming a good doctor. The readings are a representation of how doctors are in fact remorseful when it comes to their patients. While reading these articles, I realize that doctors have been restricted to how much emotion they are allowed to show. All doctors have their weaknesses and their strengths, and they should be vocal about them especially when it comes to treating their patients.

In Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine, Joel Shuman and Brian Volk “attempt to reframe that relationship, to ask if theology as lived in the church has something to offer anyone who has had or will have an encounter with the medical establishment” (Shuman and Volk 8). They talk about how to reimagine the relationship between Christians and medicine (9). In chapter one, Joel Shuman and Brian Volk reinforce the thesis by stating that Christians need to involve and invite God, the church, and the right characters into their story (19). The chapter starts off with discussing how God is sometimes pictured as a guy in the sky that is there for us to go to when we are worried medicine is not enough and nothing

Intercessory prayer should not be supported in the field of medicine because religion should be independent from a medical practitioner’s field of work. Praying is defined as the religious act towards worshiping a deity and medicine is defined as the act of healing others. The fundamental definitions for both of these terms are completely opposite, which is the reason for great discrepancy between the two methods. Although, many argue that intercessory prayer may lead to healing, combining religion and medicine just results into several controversial issues. Another glaring

In the time period between 1500 and 1800 there were changes in medical theory and philosophy, and while the ideas firmly established at the beginning and end of this period seem quite different on the surface, there are similarities. This is due to new theories incorporating pillars from previously accepted ideas and practices. Major points to take note of in this period are: the extent of improvement in quantity and the quality of medical care, the shifting relationship between theology and medical practice, and how the credibility of ancient medical theory changed.

Last, the author’s religion is Roman Catholic which accounts for nearly 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. Catholics strongly believe in the mediation of the saints and are also taught that God can heal. Catholics believe in the power of blessings and with this the use of sacraments like the Anointing of the Sick (i.e., blessed salt, water and oil) are used for healing. Certain people are physically healed. Catholics believe that God heals, and people pray all the time to be healed, nevertheless the Catholic Church does educate that medical care is an appropriate action to do when they are ill, and people are not banned from their religion if they seek medical attention.

Selzer once more brings up religion in this passage, but here, he speaks of the similarities instead of the differences. He likens his hatreds to ones that are commonly used in religious texts, stating that surgeons loathe “the evil of the interloper, that he scurries across our holy place, and filthies our altar” (712). Selzer uses words such as “holy place,” “evil,” and “altar” in order to illuminate his feelings to a follower of religion, or even a god. Like religious officers turn to incarnations of evil (evildoers or unholy movements) in order to attempt to rid the world of its existence, Selzer turns to “[sickness’] incarnation with a vengeance” (712). He ends his thoughts with a question, “Is our reverence for life in question?” (712).

Moreau, showcases a classic example of when man plays God. Dr. Moreau states, “The human shape I can get now, almost with ease, so that it is lithe and graceful, or thick and strong; but often there is trouble with the hands and claws,—painful things, that I dare not shape to freely. But it is in the subtle grafting and shaping one must needs do to the brain that my trouble lies. The intelligence is often oddly low, with unaccountable blank ends, unexpected gaps. And least satisfactory of all is something I cannot touch, somewhere—I cannot determine where—in the seat of the emotions.

"... Further to conclude you are now suspended until investigations are complete" Guy's face did not change from his usual blank, yet smug expression. Internally, he appeared to get a kick from this experience.

For most of the world's population, a disease is understood to be a physical issue, aside from mental illnesses. Viruses and bacteria are responsible for infections, tumors stem from an abnormal growth of cells, a poor diet may result in comorbidities, and so on. However, imagine a specialist explaining to you, the patient, that your symptoms of a cough, chest congestion, and fatigue are merely illusions created in the mind, to which the cure is overcoming your mental belief that you are sick at all. This alternative idea of disease and treatment comes from the religion of Christian Science, and along with its highly controversial healing practices, the church demonstrates two bioethical issues: are people seeking treatment in the church due to frustration with the current medical system, or are members afraid to seek professional medical help due to disapproval from the church? In examining these issues, first, the Christian Science doctrine must be understood, then the history surrounding the religion's creation, and finally how the two tie into today's bioethical problems.