The Rebirth of the Clinic: An Introduction to Spirituality in Health Care

263 Pages·2006·1.815 MB·English

by  Daniel P. Sulmasy

THE
R E B I R T H
OF THE
C L I N I C
Praise for The Rebirth of the Clinic
‘‘A collection of heartfelt, insightful, avowedly confessional essays by a
respected physician-ethicist who is a powerful spokesperson both for
Roman Catholic views of health and medicine and for a consideration
ofspiritualityinclinician/patientinteractions.’’
—MargaretMohrmann,M.D.,Ph.D.,UniversityofVirginia
‘‘Sulmasy builds a scholarly foundation for spirituality as the essential
element for good health care practice. Weaving historically derived in-
sights with scholarly investigation and critical thought, Dr. Sulmasy
convincinglyestablishesthecasethatallhealthcare professionalshave
the moral obligation to attend to the human spirit in the healing en-
counter. [The Rebirth of the Clinic] is the resource health care profes-
sionalscan usetoreclaimtheheartandhumanityofmedicine.’’
—ChristinaM.Puchalski,M.D.,director,TheGeorge
WashingtonInstituteforSpiritualityandHealth
‘‘This book joins others which grapple with the meaning of caring for
the dying, but it adds to them by its depth of understanding and its
focusonreligionandspirituality....Sulmasyisoneoffewtruevision-
aries,scholarsandcriticsoftheintersectionofreligion,spiritualityand
medicine.’’
—FarrCurlin,M.D.,TheUniversityofChicago
‘‘Sulmasy’s insight, intellect, and spirituality have produced a superb
philosophy of medicine and theology of the transcendent. This excel-
lent foundational work is given a remarkably practical application by
hisbedsideexperienceinthepracticeofmedicine.’’
—RobertD.Orr,M.D.,C.M.,UniversityofVermontCollegeof
Medicine
‘‘One of those rare works that nourishes the mind, heart, and soul.
Readers will be challenged intellectually but also invited to experience
the profundity of the healer–patient encounter . . . a truly remarkable
achievement.’’

—MarkG.Kuczewski,director,TheNeiswangerInstitutefor
Bioethics&HealthPolicy,LoyolaUniversityChicago
THE
R E B I R T H
OF THE
C L I N I C
An Introduction to Spirituality in Health Care
D P. S , O.F.M., M.D .
ANIEL ULMAS Y

GEORGETOWN UNIVERS ITY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
AsofJanuary1,2007,13-digitISBNnumberswillreplacethecurrent10-digitsystem.
Paperback:978-1-58901-095-6
GeorgetownUniversityPress,Washington,D.C.
(cid:2)2006byGeorgetownUniversityPress.Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmay
bereproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,
includingphotocopyingandrecording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrieval
system,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Sulmasy,DanielP.,1956–
Therebirthoftheclinic:anintroductiontospiritualityinhealthcare/
DanielP.Sulmasy.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-1-58901-095-6(pbk.:alk.paper)
ISBN-10:1-58901-095-7(pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Medicalcare—Religiousaspects. 2.Spirituality. 3.Terminal
care—Religiousaspects. I.Title.
R725.55.S83 2006
362.1—dc22 2005027250
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepapermeetingtherequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforPermanenceinPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials.
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Firstprinting
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
For my parents, whose example and teaching inspired me
to lead the life of a Friar minor and a physician.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
PartI. RebirthintheClinic
1 WhySurgeonsMustBeVeryCareful 3
2 IsHealthCareaSpiritualPractice? 13
3 Dignity,Vulnerability,andthePersonhoodofthePatient 24
4 TheWisdomofBenSira 44
5 TheDialecticofHealing 60
6 TakingPhysicians’ OathsSeriously 89
PartII. TheBookofNumbers:EmpiricalResearchon
SpiritualityandHealing
7 WhattheDataCannotMean 115
8 ABiopsychosocial-SpiritualModelofHealthCare 121
9 ScientificStudiesoftheHealingPowerofPrayer 147
10 IsThereaMoralObligationtoAddress theSpiritualNeeds
ofPatients? 161
PartIII. At theThresholdofDeath
11 OnPrayingforaCure 189
12 HealingtheDying 197
vii
viii Contents
13 AtW;t’s End 213
14 Peg 224
Postscript:IsThereLifeafterthe Clinic? 237
Index 239
Acknowledgments
B
ooks do not just happen. They take time—an extremely
preciouscommodityforamedicalschoolprofessor.Books
also are collegial efforts. This one could not have been written alone.
Therefore I am deeply grateful to the Department of Theology at St.
John’s University, New York, where I was a visiting professor as Mc-
Keever Chair in Moral Theology, 2003–2004, which enabled me to do
most of the work that made this book possible. In particular, I would
like to thank Dr. Sidney Callahan for suggesting my name to St. John’s
and Fr. Pat Primeaux, S.M.,chair of the department.I owe a huge debt
ofgratitudetomycolleagueLynnJansen,RN,PhD,whoablypickedup
somanyofmy responsibilitiesatSt.Vincent’sHospital–Manhattanand
NewYorkMedicalCollege,enablingmetodevotetimetothisbookand
other writing projects. I also am enormously grateful to Dr. Alan
Astrow, a friend and fellow traveler in the fields of spirituality and
health care, who read this entire manuscript and helped to edit this
book.Finally,IamgratefultotheanonymousreviewersforGeorgetown
UniversityPresswhomade extremelyinsightfulandusefulcomments.
Allscripturalquotes, unlessotherwisenoted,arefromtheNewRe-
visedStandardVersionBible(NewYork:DivisionofChristianEducation
ofthe National Councilof theChurchesof Christinthe UnitedStates,
1989).
SeveralchaptersinthisbookarebasedonworkIhavepublishedpre-
viously.Whereapplicable,thecurrentversionsappearwithpermission:

• Chapter 2: ‘‘Is Medicine a Spiritual Practice?’’ Academic Medicine 74
(1999):1002–5((cid:2)1999AssociationofAmericanMedicalColleges).
ix