Macrina Mackan - Week 6

This week's theme is dedicated to the newly forming partnership between science and the spirit realm. In the paper, "'You Are Here': Locating "Spirituality' on the Map of the Current Medical World", the author explains why we need to incorporate chaplaincy into medical programs, claiming that by doing so, would help future doctors gain skills in embodied care and would seamlessly integrate evidence-based clinical practice and spiritual-theological concepts. The paper also dives in on what the job of a chaplain is and how they are able to do this sort of work. Chaplains provide empathetic but nonsuffering companionship to the emotional pain the patient may be experiencing. They do this by embodying the 'self' of the patient, through his/her transpersonal-mindfulness, if only for a moment, before returning to his/her own 'self'. It seems that there has been a growing interest in finding scientifically based evidence for techniques used by chaplains, and finding these connections could drastically increase the rate in which we bridge the fields of medicine and humanities. Every day, the world advances, and it is up to us to advance with the world or risk getting left behind. Medicine is not what it was 50 years ago. We are coming up with new ways to treat patients. After reading this paper, I can see why so many people are pushing to have chaplaincy into medical schools and residency programs. People are relying more on spirituality and not just medicine, and having doctors trained in these techniques would allow them to increase the quality of their patient care. There are some who don't believe in these types of practices so how could we ensure everyone is taking part in this new kind of learning? How can we ensure that patients are being treated by doctors who respect their beliefs? I have linked a video where a chaplain explains his day at a hospital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7b6pQT_zw