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Commentary: A case for studying the relationship between religion and the practice of medicine.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Curlin, FA
Published in: Acad Med
December 2008

A growing literature on the religious characteristics of health care professionals raises questions about how clinicians' religious traditions and commitments shape their clinical practices. Because medicine is a moral practice, theological and philosophical ideas are operative in any self-conscious application of medical science. As such, disagreements about morally controversial medical interventions are likely to be particularly visible expressions of deeper disagreements about the means and ends of medicine. This commentary argues for systematic study of religion-associated variations in clinicians' clinical practices, and it proposes a framework for how that research might be carried out. Increased professional attention to the intersection of religion and the practice of medicine may enrich doctor-patient communication by stimulating physicians to be more self-conscious and candid about the intersection of their religious commitments and their practices. In addition, by raising such issues from beneath the surface of "evidence-based" or "patient-centered" medicine, such attention may foster policy solutions that permit peaceable and conscientious coexistence of those who disagree.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Acad Med

DOI

EISSN

1938-808X

Publication Date

December 2008

Volume

83

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1118 / 1120

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Theology
  • Spirituality
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Philosophy, Medical
  • Morals
  • Humans
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Attitude of Health Personnel
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Curlin, F. A. (2008). Commentary: A case for studying the relationship between religion and the practice of medicine. Acad Med, 83(12), 1118–1120. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31818c638c
Curlin, Farr A. “Commentary: A case for studying the relationship between religion and the practice of medicine.Acad Med 83, no. 12 (December 2008): 1118–20. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31818c638c.
Curlin, Farr A. “Commentary: A case for studying the relationship between religion and the practice of medicine.Acad Med, vol. 83, no. 12, Dec. 2008, pp. 1118–20. Pubmed, doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e31818c638c.

Published In

Acad Med

DOI

EISSN

1938-808X

Publication Date

December 2008

Volume

83

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1118 / 1120

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Theology
  • Spirituality
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Philosophy, Medical
  • Morals
  • Humans
  • General & Internal Medicine
  • Attitude of Health Personnel