Faith and Medicine: Week Three

I recently had my first medical school interview.  After noticing that I had attended Catholic schools for most of my life, my interviewer asked whether that would have any impact on my ability to interact with patients from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.  I should have anticipated the question, but I was a bit thrown off nevertheless.  I have always seen my Catholic faith and education as having a positive impact on my ability to interact with others, and having that perspective questioned at first bothered me and caused me to think more deeply.  Upon further reflection after the interview, I am further convinced that the impact of my faith and religious upbringing are, in fact, positive.  Yes, my faith will not interfere with my medical practice, but furthermore, it will actually help me to be a better doctor.

Most people in America are religious.  According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2014, approximately 70.6% of Americans consider themselves Christians, 5.9% are of non-Christian faiths, and 22.8% consider themselves unaffiliated.  The latter number is growing, but it is still clear that they average doctor will see many patients on a daily basis who are religious.  Thus, religious faith and spirituality do have a place in medicine.  Of course, they do not necessarily come up often in a clinical setting, but they operate beneath the surface, influencing patients’ perceptions of disease as well as their ability to endure challenges.  Knowledge of various religions is useful in a medical setting, but having a personal religious backgrounds can help medical professionals to show empathy when a patient’s religion impacts his or her medical decisions, even when they go against the wishes of the doctor.  For example, if a Jehovah’s Witness refuses to receive a blood transfusion even in dire circumstances, a religious physician, even if from a different religious background, will likely understand the importance of this decision to the patient and likely will not be hard on him or herself if that decision has negative consequences.  A physician’s primary concern should be for the health of the patient, but a religious physician might find it easier to realize that a patient’s wellbeing involves more than just health.

Of course, a religious mentality that rejects and works against different faiths or life philosophies does not belong in a medical setting.  Doctors must be prepared to help a diverse patient population coming from countless combinations of religious, socioeconomic, cultural, and national backgrounds.  Although it might not be the case for all, my Catholic education has motivated me to meet and learn from people from different backgrounds.  In high school and especially in college at Notre Dame, I have been encouraged to participate in many service and extracurricular experiences that exposed me to diversity, even if I did not always find it in the classroom.  Through these experiences I have traveled to various countries including Nicaragua, Ecuador, Ireland, Scotland, and Australia.  I participated in service domestically, getting to know many people who are poor or homeless, learning about their needs and the realities of their daily life.  I even was able to study abroad in Puebla, Mexico for a semester, learning Spanish while living with a Mexican host family and attending a Mexican university.  Of course, these sorts of experiences are possible anywhere, but the Catholic institutions I have attended have especially emphasized their importance while reminding me that I was not helping others lower than me, but learning from equals.  Through my various activities, I learned solidarity, not superiority.

Lastly, my faith and Catholic upbringing have helped me to develop compassion, which is much-needed in the medical field.  As a Catholic, I have learned to see all people as having intrinsic dignity and worth.  Additionally, I have been taught that I am called to serve other people.  Having this sense of vocation and purpose can only help me to better treat my future patients.  Non-adherent or angry patients are common in medicine because illness can be extremely frustrating and healing can often be just as or even more difficult.  Without a sense of meaning in their work, medical professionals can easily find themselves in despair, bogged down in the daily struggles of their work.  Personally, I believe in a loving God who wills that all people grow closer to him and eventually live united in him for eternity.  Therefore, I am on the same road as my patients.  No matter what their backgrounds are, we share a common destiny.  Instead of separating me from my patients, this stance brings us together and encourages me to learn from them as much as they learn from me.  In a career that requires one to observe the various determinants of health, my faith helps me to have this holistic perspective.  Thus, I am thankful to have it as part of my identity and my upbringing.  I hope that I am asked about it again in my next interview.  I am sure that I will now be better able to explain my perspective.

Joe Wolf is a Science Pre-Professional Studies major with a supplemental major in Theology and a minor in Catholic Social Traditions. He is currently applying to medical schools and is interested in the relationship between medicine and Catholic Social Teaching. In his free time he is working on a project involving poverty medicine and is involved in the Notre Dame Folk Choir.