items of interest

with contributions from Amanda James, Mark Porter, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Overell, Janet I. Tu

"While LITTLE RESEARCH has been done in Australia to understand the link between spirituality and health, research in the United States shows that greater participation in religious activities is associated with better health. ...

"In the US, most in-patients have religious needs and a significant number of them would welcome doctors inquiring about spirituality. Many US medical schools and some hospitals' intern programs already include spiritual programs in their training....

"'One could argue that, in the interests of holistic care, doctors should know wheter patients have spiritual needs or beliefs affecting their care and that these are being addressed,' [said Professor Hedley Peach of Ballarat Health Services in Victoria].

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To be a healer, I had to learn to listen