Starting this fall semester, spirituality has officially been integrated into the four-year curriculum of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB.
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.
"In medical school, we teach them how to do the physical exam, how to do an interview and a history. We have expanded the interviewing list and checklist of the items that they need to ask a patient to extrapolate information," Devlin said. "One of the things we are hitting on now is spirituality; religious beliefs, culture, end-of-life issues."
According to the program overview, students in their first year will be introduced to spirituality in medical care in the required course The Clinical Practice of Medicine - Year 1 (CPM I).
"We are teaching them how to elicit information about spirituality, cultural differences, things that might impact them as far as carrying out a doctor's wishes...be it medication, different foods they can or cannot eat, and as far as them being compliant," Devlin said.
Nancy Nguyen, a first year medical student in CPM I, 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.
According to Nguyen, the integration of spirituality is not solely about religion.
"I do not think it's all about religion. It is more about spirituality, which deals more with mental and psychological help," she said.
According to Andrew B. Symons, director of Clinical Practice of Medicine Year 1, the integration of culture in the interaction and interviewing of patients has happened for a while, but it has expanded to cover a patient's spiritual history.
"We have focused on cultural aspects over the past two years," Symons said. "We have extended that to cover spiritual history."
Symons explained that this allows physicians and patients to take advantage of the psychosocial aspects of health and the management of illness, recognizing that they are not simply biological.
"We teach them how to speak with patients about sources of hope during trying times, whether they belong to organized religion, and if they have spiritual practices that may affect their perspectives of health and illness," he said.
Spirituality issues will remain a relevant topic in classes for second and third-year medical students.
"In the second year, we are specifically having them work with cancer survivors and end-of-life issues," Devlin 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 tenants 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.
According to Devlin, senior medical students will only have an elective choice - a course called Faith, Medicine and End-of-Life.
Devlin said the change in the curriculum comes as a necessity in a community that is increasingly more diverse.
"We are just a globally, ethnically, diverse society here in Buffalo, especially in that what we mention to one person would not be ethnically, religiously or spiritually okay for them to do depending on what the directions (are)," 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.
"The main purpose is to interject issues of spirituality and whole person healthcare using the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model into medical care," Devlin said.
This expansion of the curriculum was made possible by the Templeton Grant from the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health. The Course Director is David M. Holmes, M.D., clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University at Buffalo, who is also the program developer.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
