MEDICAL TRAINING CONTINUES TO INCORPORATE A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

STARTING THIS FALL SEMESTER, spirituality has officially been integrated into the four-year curriculum of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB [University of Buffalo].

According to Karen Devlin, the program manager, the Spirituality in Medicine Interdisciplinary Training Program will not add credit hours or change the current set of required courses in medical school. The integration of spirituality into the medical school curriculum is done by increasing the focus of culture and spirituality in certain classes. ...

Nancy Nguyen, a first-year medical student in CPM I [Clinical Practice of Medicine—Year 1], said there has been at least one lecture devoted to spiritual awareness this semester. In the lecture, they discussed ways that healthcare providers could recognize and work in accordance with a patient's spiritual ideas.

"When you are interviewing a patient, it is important to get a full background on them. This includes their social history, which incorporates religion. We will ask them where do they turn for hope or spiritual guidance," Nguyen said. ...

The Spirituality in Medicine Interdisciplinary Training Program has expanded on past clerkships for third-year medical students, which will allow them to use and develop their knowledge of spirituality and medicine.

"In the third year, we will introduce them to the basic tenets of religions that are in the area ... having representatives from organizations to talk to students about their religion and effects on medical care," Devlin said. ...

Currently, implementation of spirituality is only taking place in the medical school. According to Devlin, students of the other five health professional schools may take part in the elective course called Interprofessional Care of Medically Underserved Populations, a part of the training program.

According to the program overview, the training ultimately strives to deliver the best care to patients through integrating culture in healthcare. ...

Joann Pan
"Spirituality integrated into medical school curriculum"
The Spectrum (University at Buffalo). September 21, 2007

THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS

THE WORD GIVE is in the middle of the word "forGIVEness" and at the center of the concept. The person being forgiven does not have to deserve it or even ask for it ... they don't even have to know. It's a gift! If you have a debt forgiven, it means you no longer have to pay. When we forgive someone, we are freely relieving them of any debt they owe us as a result of the harm they caused. For this reason, forgiveness doesn't deny they caused us harm, but it relieves us of the need to get them back in some way. This kind of gift benefits the giver far more than the recipient.

Often, the reason we find it hard to forgive others is our own need for forgiveness. ... So, if we haven't been forgiven and haven't forgiven ourselves, how do we muster the ability to forgive others? Forgiveness is a lot like love in this respect ... loving someone doesn't reduce the total amount of love, it increases it. In fact, loving someone else increases the love we feel. ... By praying, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," Jesus seems to be teaching that forgiveness for ourselves and our forgiveness of others are linked. We can't have one without the other. In this respect, forgiveness is definitely a two-way gift. ...

When we make forgiveness a way of life, no one can make us live in powerlessness, nursing emotional wounds until they're the focus of our lives. We have a newfound power over our lives, taken by choice from those who would make us victims. The negative emotions are replaced by productivity and confidence, building our immune systems and insulating us from stress, anxieties, and depression. No one is promising a life of forgiveness is easy—just easier than the alternative—and far healthier.

Subodh Jain
"Health—forgiveness is a way of life"
www.americanchronicle.com. September 6, 2007

A SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION OF SPORTS—WHAT'S AT THE CORE?

A BRITISH UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT dedicated to exploring the relationship between sport and spirituality has launched itself internationally by staging an inaugural conference for sports coaches, chaplains, and administrators, as well as professional athletes and academics.

More than 70 delegates from 11 countries recently met at the Centre for the Study of Sport and Spirituality, which is part of York St. John University in northern England, to look at the spiritual and moral issues involved in their work—writes Martin Revis for ENI [Ecumenical News International]. ...

Delegates were also invited to abandon armchair discussion and join in a run on the outskirts of the city.

Nick Watson, senior lecturer and founder director of the centre, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the world, and one that has an ecumenical and multifaith remit, told Ecumenical News International that the centre hoped to tackle what US ethicist Albert Spencer has described as the win-at-all cost mentality that fosters disrespect for competitors and society through egotism and an obsessive focus on money.

As a competitive amateur sportsman himself, and one who plays football and snowboards, Watson said the current situation could only be reversed by the "spiritual transformation of the hearts of individual men and women." He believes the York centre can help improve the moral climate within sport by talking with coaches, parents, and athletes, by providing lobbying material for those administrating events, such as the 2012 London Olympics, and by taking part in media discussions.

David Hope, former Anglican Archbishop of York and a founding patron of the centre established in 2004, believes it provides, "an opportunity to enable dialogue that integrates personal experience, the academic sports disciplines, and the understanding of human purpose and well-being derived from Christianity and other world faiths."

Ecumenical News International
"British university department
explores links between sport and spirituality"
UK News. September 13, 2007