Week 5 - Kimberly Pariyavanh

When reading the introduction of the reading, "You are here: locating 'spirituality' on the map of the current medical world", I was reminded of an article that highlighted the incorporation of Hmong shamans in healing patients at Mercy Medical Center in Merced. In the article, Hmong shaman Va Meng Lee is quoted saying "Doctors are good at disease [while]...The soul is the shaman's responsibility" (Brown 2009). Both articles are reminders for me that when one is physically sick, the spirit and the mind are places that also need to be healed and addressed.

            Although hospitals may be looking into or implementing different healing practices, I question their genuine intent. In the article the quote, "Medical professionals' interest in incorporating TCAM into clinical care was triggered by consumer-driven healthcare system" made me think if these hospitals and medical professionals actually recognize the importance and power in spiritual or religious healing. From that quote, it seems that the decision to incorporate spiritual care came from giving patients what they wanted not because the type of care was seen as valuable.

            The article did not address this but I wonder how chaplains differ from the work of a therapist or counselor for patients? Do chaplains and patients share a more intimate bond or conversation?

Outside article: 

Brown, P. L. (2009, September 19). A Doctor for Disease, a Shaman for the Soul. Retrieved April 30, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/us/20shaman.html