Spiritual Thinking and Surgery

Abstract

The ways in which patients ask for help from doctors have not changed over the centuries: weakness, fear of pain, and the anguish of losing physical strength remain the same. What has changed radically is the attitude and the role of doctors who once represented an important point of reference for society. Today they appear disoriented and confused in the face of the profound changes to the health system and its organization. Without denying all the progress achieved through the positive aspects of technology and the hyper-specialization of doctors, one should reflect on the gradual loss of the sense of mission that should be a fundamental characteristic of the medical profession.

It is essential to consider the human component which affects the way doctors use their knowledge and training – their way of thinking about life, their spirituality, their faith if they have one – in their efforts to help the patient. Also, doctors must not forget that they have the huge responsibility to train new generations since they necessarily serve as models of inspiration for students and younger practitioners.

This chapter examines the reasons and the engine that has fueled a transformation of the medical profession. From being the sole repository of the knowledge necessary for one’s health, the doctor has become the employee of a highly technological system based on business practices and is asked to follow preestablished protocols and apply procedures that allow a complicated system to function but are often far from what medicine should really be about. The author also considers the role that spirituality and faith might have in the practice of medicine and in the healing process.