Body talk: how we cover, uncover and use our bodies in health and healing
June Jones, PhD, University of Birmingham
Barbara Cohen, PhD, Berkeley College
Martha Libster, PhD, Governors State University
This 60 minute panel session will consider the role of the caregiver’s body- its use, its covering and uncovering and the discourse surrounding it. We will examine how healthcare providers relate to their bodies as they care for patients and interact with colleagues. We offer three different religious perspectives: Islam, Shaker Christianity and Judaism , each complementing and building on perspectives of what is involved in being an embodied healthcare provider.
1. Laid Bare: Islamophobia within online commentary about ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ guidance in professional journals
The decision by the UK Department of Health to introduce amendments to the uniform and work wear policy for the National Health Service 2008 in response to increasing problems with infection control seemed uncontroversial. There has, however, been some difficulty in implementing the policy, arising largely because of the conflict this causes for staff who wish to keep their arms covered for reasons which stem from religious beliefs. This paper uses textual analysis to examine a four year trend about how those reasons and challenges are discussed in online commentary within professional journals. The paper shows that there is a marked difference in how physicians and nurses responded to changes to workwear, and exposes a worrying degree of religious intolerance expressed by contributors to the nursing journal. This is most acutely expressed in commentary about female Muslim members of staff who wish to keep their arms covered for modesty reasons. The paper will explore the conflict between the desire to maintain infection control and the desire not to be unnecessarily uncovered, examining whether the way one chooses to express oneself in professional commentary impacts on public perception about professional practice.
2. As Above So Below: Making “Medicine” as Embodiment of Health Care and Reform
Making medicine is a healing practice in which the embodiment of the ancient maxim “As above, so below” is demonstrated as healing art, science, and spiritual practice. Medicine-making has roots in cultural healing traditions, philosophies, and practices, such as Greek humoral medicine and nursing, in which the elements of all matter, including the Self of the healer, as ether, fire, air, water, and earth have been harnessed in the making of medicine. Within herbal medicine-making, the “medicine” of the maker is embodied in such caring acts as infusing a tea, applying a compress, extracting a tincture, or simmering a syrup. This paper explores the findings of primary historical research into the herbal medicine-making practices by a Christian community of physicians and nurses known more commonly as Shakers, members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, who rose to a level of renown in the 19th century for their international expertise in herbal medicine-making. It was the Shaker physicians’ (“Botanics”) and nurses’ herbal medicines, made in their herb shops and tested in their infirmaries, which formed the prototype for the development of the American pharmaceutical drug industry that is in existence today. In addition, the body of the physician or nurse was used to make the ‘medicine’ in a way which is different from the act of writing a prescription, most commonly the only connection between practitioners and their medicines today. This paper discusses examples of the application of lessons learned from historical evidence of actual reform of American healthcare as represented in Shaker history to present structures and professional practice. An opportunity for participating in the ritual of tea tasting will serve as exemplar for application of the process of making medicine as the embodiment of health care and reform that begins with the elements of Self.
3. External embodiment of internal prayer and devotion by Orthodox Jewish registered nurses: reactions to and of others in the workplace
This paper examines data from seventeen Orthodox Jewish registered nurses who were individually interviewed in a qualitative study. The transcribed data was reviewed with participants for accuracy and then analyzed utilizing van Manen’s interpretative phenomenological approach. In one aspect of this study, nurses’ described the external embodiment of internal spiritual beliefs in physical demonstrations of prayer rituals, food rituals, time related rituals, dress, interpersonal interactions, speech and behavioural choices grounded in Orthodox Judaism. Physical embodiment of religious beliefs will be explored from the nurses’ perceptions of personal benefits as well as difficulties experienced in the workplace as a result of the obvious external embodiment of internal religious beliefs. This presentation will explore these issues and suggest appropriate workplace improvements to enhance faith-based tolerance in the workplace.
Barbara Cohen, PhD, Berkeley College
Martha Libster, PhD, Governors State University
This 60 minute panel session will consider the role of the caregiver’s body- its use, its covering and uncovering and the discourse surrounding it. We will examine how healthcare providers relate to their bodies as they care for patients and interact with colleagues. We offer three different religious perspectives: Islam, Shaker Christianity and Judaism , each complementing and building on perspectives of what is involved in being an embodied healthcare provider.
1. Laid Bare: Islamophobia within online commentary about ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ guidance in professional journals
The decision by the UK Department of Health to introduce amendments to the uniform and work wear policy for the National Health Service 2008 in response to increasing problems with infection control seemed uncontroversial. There has, however, been some difficulty in implementing the policy, arising largely because of the conflict this causes for staff who wish to keep their arms covered for reasons which stem from religious beliefs. This paper uses textual analysis to examine a four year trend about how those reasons and challenges are discussed in online commentary within professional journals. The paper shows that there is a marked difference in how physicians and nurses responded to changes to workwear, and exposes a worrying degree of religious intolerance expressed by contributors to the nursing journal. This is most acutely expressed in commentary about female Muslim members of staff who wish to keep their arms covered for modesty reasons. The paper will explore the conflict between the desire to maintain infection control and the desire not to be unnecessarily uncovered, examining whether the way one chooses to express oneself in professional commentary impacts on public perception about professional practice.
2. As Above So Below: Making “Medicine” as Embodiment of Health Care and Reform
Making medicine is a healing practice in which the embodiment of the ancient maxim “As above, so below” is demonstrated as healing art, science, and spiritual practice. Medicine-making has roots in cultural healing traditions, philosophies, and practices, such as Greek humoral medicine and nursing, in which the elements of all matter, including the Self of the healer, as ether, fire, air, water, and earth have been harnessed in the making of medicine. Within herbal medicine-making, the “medicine” of the maker is embodied in such caring acts as infusing a tea, applying a compress, extracting a tincture, or simmering a syrup. This paper explores the findings of primary historical research into the herbal medicine-making practices by a Christian community of physicians and nurses known more commonly as Shakers, members of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, who rose to a level of renown in the 19th century for their international expertise in herbal medicine-making. It was the Shaker physicians’ (“Botanics”) and nurses’ herbal medicines, made in their herb shops and tested in their infirmaries, which formed the prototype for the development of the American pharmaceutical drug industry that is in existence today. In addition, the body of the physician or nurse was used to make the ‘medicine’ in a way which is different from the act of writing a prescription, most commonly the only connection between practitioners and their medicines today. This paper discusses examples of the application of lessons learned from historical evidence of actual reform of American healthcare as represented in Shaker history to present structures and professional practice. An opportunity for participating in the ritual of tea tasting will serve as exemplar for application of the process of making medicine as the embodiment of health care and reform that begins with the elements of Self.
3. External embodiment of internal prayer and devotion by Orthodox Jewish registered nurses: reactions to and of others in the workplace
This paper examines data from seventeen Orthodox Jewish registered nurses who were individually interviewed in a qualitative study. The transcribed data was reviewed with participants for accuracy and then analyzed utilizing van Manen’s interpretative phenomenological approach. In one aspect of this study, nurses’ described the external embodiment of internal spiritual beliefs in physical demonstrations of prayer rituals, food rituals, time related rituals, dress, interpersonal interactions, speech and behavioural choices grounded in Orthodox Judaism. Physical embodiment of religious beliefs will be explored from the nurses’ perceptions of personal benefits as well as difficulties experienced in the workplace as a result of the obvious external embodiment of internal religious beliefs. This presentation will explore these issues and suggest appropriate workplace improvements to enhance faith-based tolerance in the workplace.