The Virtue of Christian Compassion and its Ability to Foster a Communal Health Care Experience
Celeste Giraldo Estrada, PhD. in Philosophy of Theology, Student, Regis College
From its Latin etymological roots compati, that is to suffer with, the dynamic of Christian compassion moves a caregiver from a position of observer to one that actually partakes in the suffering of the person for whom they are providing care. To suffer with is to enter into the narrative of the one who suffers. As opposed to the concerned observer who remains outside of the drama of the patient, it is to become a Simon of Cyrene and allow oneself to be shaped by the onerous burden of the cross. To permit oneself to taste the bitter burden of sorrow, vulnerability and fear that a patient may experience. The treatment of disease in our contemporary hospital setting has become increasingly evidence-based and as a consequence increasingly administrative. The time a health care provider may allocate to any one individual patient is constrained by protocols that are executed in response to specific empirical markers. Even amongst the hierarchy of the various health care professionals there exists divisions of labour and unions to legally safeguard the work they have to conduct; divisions that further limit an unscripted or wholistic response to a person’s illness. The response to specific hallmarks of disease or stages in the progression of an illness can become methodic and even automated. Yet, the role that suffering plays in the restoration of the health of a patient cannot be understated. It is suffering that confronts a person with their limits and opens them to what transcends them. Not only does suffering affect a patient’s overall outlook of their situation, but furthermore, the fear of suffering (that one may rightly or wrongly associate with a medical treatment) may also directly impact one’s chosen course of treatment. What often appears as mundane or common knowledge to a health care provider can be experienced as completely foreign by a patient. When a patient is unable to express their concerns or questions regarding the degree of suffering associated with a treatment, they are unable to comprehensively decide upon a health care treatment for themselves. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that the specific claims of the virtue of Christian compassion can provide a unique means to establish a common language between a patient and a health care provider when speaking about suffering. It will attempt to provide a working definition of human suffering. It will then list and explain the specific claims of Christian compassion. Lastly, it will explain how these specific claims have the capacity to transform a mechanized health care experience to one that is both robust and communal, facilitating a patient’s propensity to heal.
From its Latin etymological roots compati, that is to suffer with, the dynamic of Christian compassion moves a caregiver from a position of observer to one that actually partakes in the suffering of the person for whom they are providing care. To suffer with is to enter into the narrative of the one who suffers. As opposed to the concerned observer who remains outside of the drama of the patient, it is to become a Simon of Cyrene and allow oneself to be shaped by the onerous burden of the cross. To permit oneself to taste the bitter burden of sorrow, vulnerability and fear that a patient may experience. The treatment of disease in our contemporary hospital setting has become increasingly evidence-based and as a consequence increasingly administrative. The time a health care provider may allocate to any one individual patient is constrained by protocols that are executed in response to specific empirical markers. Even amongst the hierarchy of the various health care professionals there exists divisions of labour and unions to legally safeguard the work they have to conduct; divisions that further limit an unscripted or wholistic response to a person’s illness. The response to specific hallmarks of disease or stages in the progression of an illness can become methodic and even automated. Yet, the role that suffering plays in the restoration of the health of a patient cannot be understated. It is suffering that confronts a person with their limits and opens them to what transcends them. Not only does suffering affect a patient’s overall outlook of their situation, but furthermore, the fear of suffering (that one may rightly or wrongly associate with a medical treatment) may also directly impact one’s chosen course of treatment. What often appears as mundane or common knowledge to a health care provider can be experienced as completely foreign by a patient. When a patient is unable to express their concerns or questions regarding the degree of suffering associated with a treatment, they are unable to comprehensively decide upon a health care treatment for themselves. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that the specific claims of the virtue of Christian compassion can provide a unique means to establish a common language between a patient and a health care provider when speaking about suffering. It will attempt to provide a working definition of human suffering. It will then list and explain the specific claims of Christian compassion. Lastly, it will explain how these specific claims have the capacity to transform a mechanized health care experience to one that is both robust and communal, facilitating a patient’s propensity to heal.