Balancing Faith and Science in the I.C.U. - NYTimes.com

This is the very reason the medical team, physicians in particular, should be sensitive to a patient’s need to rely on his or her faith during a medical crisis. When a physician, as the lead team member, ignores or minimizes the importance of a patient’s faith, issues of trust arise and treatment barriers are created that become almost insurmountable for the medical team. Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of patients facing serious or life-threatening illness want their physicians to talk to them about their spirituality.  Patients believed that these discussions would affect the doctors’ ability to encourage realistic hope, give medical advice and change their treatment. To put it plainly, patients tend to trust their physicians more when they show respect for their spiritual needs.


Balancing Faith and Science in the I.C.U. - NYTimes.com