interesting stats & Quotes...

from the Journal of the American Medical Association, September 20, 2006

"Spiritual issues arise frequently in the care of dying patients, yet health care professionals may not recognize them, may not believe they have a DUTY to address these issues..."

"Spirituality is about one's relationship with the transcendent questions that confront one as a human being and how one relates to theses questions. A religion, by contrast, is a set of texts, practices, and beliefs about the transcendent, shared by a particular community."

"In one survey of outpatients:
52% believed that a physician had the right to inquire about a patient's religious beliefs, but
A MAJORITY could not recall any physician ever having inquired about religious beliefs
94% believed it appropriate for physicians to inquire about their spiritual beliefs were they to become gravely ill.
In a survey of inpatients:
77% believed physicians should consider their spiritual needs
68% said no physician had ever inquired about their spiritual or religious needs"

"IN a recent survey of US physicians:
- they are less likely than the general population to believe in GOd (79% vs. 83%)
- they are less likely to try to incorporate their religious beliefs into all aspects of their lives (58% vs. 73%)"


"Attending to these [spiritual] needs is integral to the job of being a good physician."


not all of the article was so intriguing... including the section entitled "elements of religious coping." AGGGG, agonizing to read!