The relationship of science and spirituality can be a debate that many people have conceptualized. Jacalyn Duffin’s uses her historian and physician background to lead her to an important exploration of medical saints who spark miracles in the postmodern world that contribute to her three main observations. Duffin studies why physicians ignore miracles and prayer, why are miracles mostly about illness, and Comas and Damian in Toronto. Her personal scholarly experiences along with her first-hand observation with miraculous cure influence her work and accomplishments with “Medical Saints: Cosmas and Damian in a Postmodern World”. The book leaves the reader with a idea and understanding of the concepts Duffin studies to further develop the authority so more contributions can be made for this field. This book will give the reader an idea of these medical saints and how it is significant in the postmodern world today.
The title itself suggests that Duffin will be writing about the medical field along with the spirituality that accompanies the two medical saints Cosmas and Damian in the postmodern world. One can suggest by reading the title that she will try and make sense of the saint’s role in the medical field today. From there the reader can guess that it will be a book about Duffin’s research in the field and how it is significant to the world one lives in today. Medical Saints opens with a prologue of Duffin’s experiences in writing the book and why she did so. She suggests that the work leading up to the publishing of Medical Saints took many years to do because all the information she accumulated she did not know what the best way of presenting it was. Her background as a physician and a historian merged with this study and b...
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...row, Vatican achieves, and talking to pilgrims contributes to the ideas and gives it scholarly authority.
Medical Saints is a book backed up with experience, knowledge, and spiritual and scientific concepts. Duffin’s development of plot with her studies helps the reader conceptualize her stressed importance on Saints Cosmas and Damian and their relationship with medical miracles. By looking at the author’s experiences, her research, and her concepts, one can see that it is accurate information that can help the world we live in today. Duffin inspires the health care system and forms of spirituality to bridge the gap between them and understand that they coexist.
Works Cited
Duffin, Jacalyn. Medical Saints: Cosmas and Damian in a Postmodern World. : Oxford University Press, 2013-06-01. Oxford Scholarship Online. 2013-05-23. Date Accessed 17 Feb. 2014
Even in the medical field, male doctors were dominate to the hundreds of well educated midwives. “Male physicians are easily identified in town records and even in Martha’s diary, by the title “Doctor.” No local woman can be discovered that way” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.61). Martha was a part of this demoralized group of laborers. Unfortunately for her, “in twentieth-century terms, the ability to prescribe and dispense medicine made Martha a physician, while practical knowledge of gargles, bandages, poultices and clisters, as well as willingness to give extended care, defined her as a nurse” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.58). In her diary she even portrays doctors, not midwives, as inconsequential in a few medical
The writing style of the author is quite interesting to me. Atul Gawande’s honesty, a major aspect of his writing style, beautifully highlights the good and bad of any medical profession. For example, Gawande’s argument over the use of patients for resident training
The main characters, the Hmongs, are a culture of refugee families that supported CIA efforts in Laos. Their culture embeds deep spirituality into its health care, by the doctors of the Merced County hospital. The notion that herbs were strictly to heal the spirit was of course a source of contention for the physicians of the hospital, though nurses might feel that the symbolic effect alone is worth seizing. In other words, whether the physicians ...
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For countless years there has always been an urgent need for doctors. Different methods would be used to cure people from their sicknesses. However, life is given by God and it is he who can take it away. Doctors play the role of saving lives, but in the end, they are powerless because nature has to take its course leaving humanity at its limits. In Vincent Lams novel “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures”, Lam challenges the myth that doctors are omnipotent by contending that “medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability”. Using Fitzgerald as a focal point, Lam debunks the myth that doctors are omnipotent through situations of medical failure, having a loss of power and control and by inhabiting deadly diseases. By showings his mistakes, Lam proves that Fitz is not perfect and God like.
With a New York bestseller book (The Language of God) already under his belt, Dr. Collins is no stranger to the book writing process. The second to a series of books named “The language of…”; “The Language of Life” is the first one to focus on the theme of personalized medicine in the modern world. Both “The language of God” and “The Language of Science and Faith” focus on reconciliate science and religion, from a scientist stand point.
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Medicine men utilize the use of herbs, ceremony, song, stories and prayer to treat each person individually. Medicine men’s healing beliefs advocates a personalized treatment plan for each individual’s unique health problems. Consequently The medicine man is unswervingly devoted to his calling for his entire life, both publicly and privately. Frequently he fasted and his thoughts would reflect upon the supernatural. Publicly his duties were numerous and onerous; dedicated children to the Great Spirit, carried out the setting up of the chief, conferred military honors on the warrior, held leadership positions for war, enforced orders, appointed officers for the buffalo hunts, and when planting the maize he decided on the time to plant.
Kleinman, Arthur M. “What Kind of Model for the Anthropology of Medical Systems?” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep, 1978), pp. 661-665.
This paper will discuss three different religions that a health care provider may care for in the nursing field. It will discuss the spiritual perspective, as well as the critical components of healing, such as through prayer and meditation. The writer will give a brief summary of each religions belief. The three religions that will be discussed in this paper are Native American, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This paper will discuss what is important to people who are cared for of a particular faith by the health care provider who may have an entirely different belief system. The writer will discuss how a patient may view a health care provider who puts aside his or her own beliefs in the interest of the beliefs and practices of the patient that is being cared for. The writer of this paper is of Christian belief and will compare her beliefs of faith and healing with the three previously mentioned religions.
From the very beginning, we are introduced to Dr. Bearings witty remarks and her love for John Donne. What shocked me the most was its accurate portal of conflicts in modern medicine. Far too often, in the media we see healthcare workers working hard to bring patients back to life, but the media never addresses the questions of, “Do they want to be resuscitated?”. With no
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Siraisi, Nancy G. Medieval and early Renaissance medicine: an introduction to knowledge and practice. University of Chicago Press, 2009.
Doctors, nurses and other providers are challenged on a daily basis in an attempt to consider and assimilate their patient’s different religious backgrounds and beliefs. The recent trends and strong indications of religious vitality and diversity present a pressing need to recognize various faith traditions in healthcare ethics (Reimer-Kirkham, Grypma, & Terblanche, 2013). Christianity and Buddhism, two of the most widely practiced religions today, bring their own viewpoints concerning healthcare. These religious beliefs may have similar ideas with regards to illness and healing. However, the differences in health practices and the approach to achieving optimal
In healthcare organizations, medical staff must conform to their hospital and their country’s code of conduct. Not only do they have to meet set standards, they must also take their patient into consideration. When making a decision upon a patient, medical staff must recognize religious backgrounds and spiritual beliefs. By understanding a patients’ beliefs and their belief system, a medical worker can give the patient their deserved medical assistance without overstepping boundaries or coming off as offensive. The practices and beliefs of four religions will be articulated throughout this essay to fully understand how religion can either help or hinder the healing process.