Document Detail


Spiritual care: whose job is it anyway?
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  15646763     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The use of spirituality and religion in coping with illness is widespread among primary care patients. Although the overwhelming majority of healthcare providers agree that they should be aware of patients' spiritual beliefs, that these beliefs may influence their healing, and that patients benefit from spiritual care, there remains considerable debate about who should inquire about spiritual beliefs and deliver spiritual care. The authors, a physician and a chaplain, propose that, in general, the role of the physician is to assess spiritual needs as they relate to healthcare (ie, briefly screen) and then refer to a professional pastoral caregiver as indicated (ie, to address those needs). The chaplain is the spiritual care specialist on the healthcare team and has the training necessary to treat spiritual distress in all its forms. Seeing the physician as the generalist in spiritual care and the chaplain as the specialist is a helpful model.
Authors:
George Handzo; Harold G Koenig
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Southern medical journal     Volume:  97     ISSN:  0038-4348     ISO Abbreviation:  South. Med. J.     Publication Date:  2004 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-01-13     Completed Date:  2005-02-15     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0404522     Medline TA:  South Med J     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1242-4     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Clinical Services, The HealthCare Chaplaincy, New York, NY 10022, USA. ghandzo@healthcarechaplaincy.org
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Physician's Role
Religion and Medicine*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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