Will This Be on the Boards?: Reflections on Teaching Religion to Future Doctors
Moderator -
Zane Yi, PhD., Assistant Professor, Loma Linda University
Panelists -
Carla Gober-Park, RN, PhD., Loma Linda University
Henry Lamberton, PhD., Associate Dean for Student Affairs, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University
Richard Rice, PhD., Loma Linda University
James W. Walters, PhD., Professor of Religion, School of Religion, Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University in Southern California is a Christian health sciences institution with a rich history of teaching religion to future medical professional; the curriculum of all its programs includes courses in religion, with the goal of increasing cultural competency, theological acumen, compassion for others, and encouraging personal spiritual reflection and development.
In the School of Medicine each student takes at least six religion courses during their four years of training, with eighty per cent of them taking a fourth year elective in whole person care, which also has a spiritual/religious focus. These courses fall within three basic areas: ethical, theological, or relational.
Ethics courses focus on both the theoretical underpinnings for ethics, as well as making sound clinical decisions. In addition to acquainting students with normative theories, in “Medicine and Ethics,” students explore the relationship of these theories to religious ideals and values, which together have formed the ethical ideals of modern medicine. In “Advanced Clinical Ethics” students learn to think through case studies, keeping the religious views of their patients in mind.
Courses in the theology area, such as “Medicine, Humanity, and God,” focus on helping students understand and appreciate the continuing relevance of theological ideas and Scriptural teaching to health care. Course like “God and Human Suffering” seek to provide students resources to think clearly and compassionately about the pain and death they will encounter.
Relational courses include "Orientation to Religion and Medicine," "Wholeness for Physicians," and "The Art and Science of Whole Person Care." The purpose of these courses is threefold: to help students put Scripture in dialogue with their work as future physician in a practical way, to help students explore issues of personal wholeness, and to equip students with the tools needed to effectively care for others.
In this panel, seasoned and newer faculty of the School of Religion will reflect on their pedagogical approaches, classroom experiences, and offer reflections on the future of “enchanted” medical education. This will include the challenges they’ve faced and insights they’ve gleaned teaching a variety of courses—ranging from spirituality and whole-person care to theology to ethics—to future medical doctors.
Zane Yi, PhD., Assistant Professor, Loma Linda University
Panelists -
Carla Gober-Park, RN, PhD., Loma Linda University
Henry Lamberton, PhD., Associate Dean for Student Affairs, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University
Richard Rice, PhD., Loma Linda University
James W. Walters, PhD., Professor of Religion, School of Religion, Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University in Southern California is a Christian health sciences institution with a rich history of teaching religion to future medical professional; the curriculum of all its programs includes courses in religion, with the goal of increasing cultural competency, theological acumen, compassion for others, and encouraging personal spiritual reflection and development.
In the School of Medicine each student takes at least six religion courses during their four years of training, with eighty per cent of them taking a fourth year elective in whole person care, which also has a spiritual/religious focus. These courses fall within three basic areas: ethical, theological, or relational.
Ethics courses focus on both the theoretical underpinnings for ethics, as well as making sound clinical decisions. In addition to acquainting students with normative theories, in “Medicine and Ethics,” students explore the relationship of these theories to religious ideals and values, which together have formed the ethical ideals of modern medicine. In “Advanced Clinical Ethics” students learn to think through case studies, keeping the religious views of their patients in mind.
Courses in the theology area, such as “Medicine, Humanity, and God,” focus on helping students understand and appreciate the continuing relevance of theological ideas and Scriptural teaching to health care. Course like “God and Human Suffering” seek to provide students resources to think clearly and compassionately about the pain and death they will encounter.
Relational courses include "Orientation to Religion and Medicine," "Wholeness for Physicians," and "The Art and Science of Whole Person Care." The purpose of these courses is threefold: to help students put Scripture in dialogue with their work as future physician in a practical way, to help students explore issues of personal wholeness, and to equip students with the tools needed to effectively care for others.
In this panel, seasoned and newer faculty of the School of Religion will reflect on their pedagogical approaches, classroom experiences, and offer reflections on the future of “enchanted” medical education. This will include the challenges they’ve faced and insights they’ve gleaned teaching a variety of courses—ranging from spirituality and whole-person care to theology to ethics—to future medical doctors.