Improving Spiritual Competency at the End of Life
Presenters:
Natalie Rodden, M.D. Palliative Medicine Fellow, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Reverend Silvia S. Tiznado, M.Div., BBC, Mayo Clinic Arizona
In medicine today, a concept familiar to many is the idea of "cultural competency," to help better understand and more effectively work in cross-cultural situations. So often, medical decisions directly are impacted by one's cultural background. In our work in palliative medicine, caring for patients with chronic and life-limiting illness, we have found that one's religious beliefs also greatly impact what, when, by whom, and how medical decisions are made. The framework of one's decision-making can be closely associated with one's religious identity and upbringing. Our experience suggests that health care professionals often fall short of understanding this connection and so our goal has been to develop improved "religious competency."
This workshop will share our efforts in fostering better understanding of the beliefs of world religions, especially those beliefs related to illness, suffering, death, the afterlife, and other issues related to the end-of-life. We will educate how the field of palliative medicine holistically cares for the spiritual aspect of patient health. We will teach audience members how to take a spiritual screening and assessment of patients at the bedside. We will share our experiences with studying the most prominent religions of our patients, interviewing patients of these religions as to how their beliefs have impacted their health care, and channeling this information into an accessible resource for staff learning. We will share how our connections with local religious leaders, also whom we interviewed, improved our educational process and strengthened community relations with our hospital. The goal of this workshop will be to empower others to also work to improve holistic, patient-centered care, grounded in the knowledge that religious core beliefs may impact patient decision-making and approach to medical care.
Natalie Rodden, M.D. Palliative Medicine Fellow, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Reverend Silvia S. Tiznado, M.Div., BBC, Mayo Clinic Arizona
In medicine today, a concept familiar to many is the idea of "cultural competency," to help better understand and more effectively work in cross-cultural situations. So often, medical decisions directly are impacted by one's cultural background. In our work in palliative medicine, caring for patients with chronic and life-limiting illness, we have found that one's religious beliefs also greatly impact what, when, by whom, and how medical decisions are made. The framework of one's decision-making can be closely associated with one's religious identity and upbringing. Our experience suggests that health care professionals often fall short of understanding this connection and so our goal has been to develop improved "religious competency."
This workshop will share our efforts in fostering better understanding of the beliefs of world religions, especially those beliefs related to illness, suffering, death, the afterlife, and other issues related to the end-of-life. We will educate how the field of palliative medicine holistically cares for the spiritual aspect of patient health. We will teach audience members how to take a spiritual screening and assessment of patients at the bedside. We will share our experiences with studying the most prominent religions of our patients, interviewing patients of these religions as to how their beliefs have impacted their health care, and channeling this information into an accessible resource for staff learning. We will share how our connections with local religious leaders, also whom we interviewed, improved our educational process and strengthened community relations with our hospital. The goal of this workshop will be to empower others to also work to improve holistic, patient-centered care, grounded in the knowledge that religious core beliefs may impact patient decision-making and approach to medical care.