Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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In recent years patients and some members of the medical community have expressed the concern that doctors have forgotten about compassion and too often ignore their patients' spiritual concerns. Patients can and should expect their physicians to respect their beliefs and be able to talk with them about spiritual concerns in a respectful and caring manner. Medical schools must teach their students how to meet these expectations, and health care systems need to provide practice environments that foster compassionate caregiving. ⋯ The authors discuss the relationship of spirituality and healing, and describe studies that have shown patients' desire to have spiritual issues addressed by their physicians and the potential health benefits of spiritual beliefs. Finally, they describe common elements of the spirituality courses offered by approximately 50 U. S. medical schools, including 19 schools that have been awarded grants from the National Institute for Healthcare Research for the development of curricula in spirituality and medicine.
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In this chapter, the author describes integrating the teaching of the basic sciences, clinical sciences, and biopsychosocial issues in medical education as part of the curricular reform efforts initiated by schools that participated in The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's project "Preparing: Physicians for the Future: Program in Medical Education." The author focuses on the approaches the eight schools adopted, the challenges they encountered, and the lessons they learned in attempting to implement more integrated curricula. Integration was promoted both within and among various components of medical education. ⋯ All the schools also promoted the study of the humanities and biopsychosocial sciences throughout the curriculum. The author describes problems encountered in these endeavors, resources needed to support interdisciplinary courses, the benefits of integration, and common lessons learned by the eight schools.