WEBINAR SERIES 2023
** A Christian’s Walk in Academic Medicine will not be available as a recording and names of faculty members will NOT be listed on our website. All webinars will be on Wednesdays at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET
January 25, 2023
“Bioethics of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine”
Speakers:
Fabrice Jotterand, PhD, MA, is Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, and Director of the Graduate Program in Bioethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is also the Director of the Kern Philosophies of Medical Education Transformation Laboratory (P-METaL). He holds an appointment as Senior Researcher at the Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel in Switzerland. He is the author of the recent book The Unfit Brain and the Limits of Moral Bioenhancement (Palgrave, 2022) and the editor of another recent book entitled Artificial Intelligence in Brain and Mental Health: Philosophical, Ethical & Policy Issues (Springer, 2022).
David Larson, MD retired from his position of 27 years as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is Board certified in both Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery and is the current Chairman of the MEI Advisory Council.
Passcode: !CAPS2301A
February 22, 2023
ABSTRACT: Should religious believers ‘check their faith at the door’ when they are practicing medicine? Research suggests many medical practitioners enter their profession motivated by religious commitments and draw on those commitments to find meaning in their work. At the same time, medical training seems to encourage practitioners to marginalize or disregard their religious commitments in service to being professional and scientific. I will argue that medical trainees and practitioners should reclaim an integrated personal and professional identity…Ways in which to understand how one’s faith commitments can be brought to bear in the workplace will be discussed and practical tips will be shared about having conversations that matter with others who may disagree.
Speakers:
Dr. Collier is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan, where she directs the School of Medicine’s Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion. She is also Associate Program Director of the internal medicine residency program and oversees the primary care track. Dr. Collier received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internship, residency and chief residency at The University of Michigan Hospital. Her academic interests are the intersection spirituality, religion and medicine. Her peer reviewed work has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the Annals of Internal Medicine, The Journal of General Internal Medicine, the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has also published in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal, Theopolis, America Magazine and Public Discourse. She is also the proud mother of four boys.
David Larson, MD retired from his position of 27 years as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is Board certified in both Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery and is the current Chairman of the MEI Advisory Council.
March 16, 2023
ABSTRACT: The 2000s witnessed a surge of interest among undergraduate and health profession students in global health. Correspondingly, growing number of institutions now offer students opportunities to augment their understanding of this field through academic courses and study abroad. Research demonstrates that such students are more likely to incorporate international service into their careers. But significant barriers remain. Nursing schools, for example, seldom give academic credit for study abroad. Of 159 schools of medicine and osteopathy in the U.S., only some 40 percent report study opportunities in developing nations. Of 446 family medicine residencies, only about 20 percent actively participate in international service. Why such deficiencies? Educators express concerns over assuring academic excellence and verifying that students are achieving defined learning objectives. Residency programs expressed concerns over funding for resident physician’s salary and limited time away provisions. Perhaps most vexing is consensus on what competency objectives are most appropriate. This session addresses these phenomenon and concerns through 20 years of experience at the Institute for International Medicine.
Speakers:
Benjamin Doolittle is professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at Yale Medical School and Professor of Religion and Health at Yale Divinity School. He is the program director of the medicine-pediatrics residency program and director of Yale's Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion. He is ordained in the Reformed Church in America and is the Pastor for Preaching and Worship, Pilgrim Congregational Church, New Haven, CT.
Biography Coming Soon...
April 26, 2023
ABSTRACT: The 2000s witnessed a surge of interest among undergraduate and health profession students in global health. Correspondingly, growing number of institutions now offer students opportunities to augment their understanding of this field through academic courses and study abroad. Research demonstrates that such students are more likely to incorporate international service into their careers. But significant barriers remain. Nursing schools, for example, seldom give academic credit for study abroad. Of 159 schools of medicine and osteopathy in the U.S., only some 40 percent report study opportunities in developing nations. Of 446 family medicine residencies, only about 20 percent actively participate in international service. Why such deficiencies? Educators express concerns over assuring academic excellence and verifying that students are achieving defined learning objectives. Residency programs expressed concerns over funding for salary and limited time away provisions. Perhaps most vexing is consensus on what competency objectives are most appropriate. This session addresses, please phenomenon and concerns through 20 years of experience at the Institute for International Medicine.
Speakers:
Nicholas Comninellis is President and Professor at INMED, the Institute for International Medicine. He is also faculty at Research Medical Center Family Medicine Residency. Over two years Dr. Comninellis served inner-city citizens at Shanghai Charity Hospital. Over another two years, he led a healthcare ministry in the war-besieged nation of Angola in southern Africa. Dr. Comninellis next served for six years in the Kansas City public hospital before launching INMED in 2003. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine and Saint Louis University School of Public Health and was a family medicine resident at John Peter Smith Hospital. Dr. Comninellis also earned a professional diploma in tropical medicine from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and became board certified in both public health and family medicine. Among his authored books are Shanghai Doctor, Where Do I Go From Here, and INMED International Medicine & Public Health. Dr. Comninellis is a classical guitarist and faculty advisor for UMKC Cru. He was recognized as the 2009 United Nations Association of the United States World Citizen and the 2015 University of Missouri-Kansas City Alumni of the Year.
Dr. Johnson is Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. She is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology; the CMDA Racism, Reconciliation, Equality and Diversity Committee; and the Christian Academic Physicians and Scientists section of CMDA. Dr. Johnson obtained her undergraduate education from University of Texas, Dallas, received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern University School of Medicine, and earned her M.S. in Medical Education from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Johnson is involved in medical education at both the undergraduate and graduate level and is passionate about training the next generation of physicians. Dr. Johnson has been an active member of the CAPS section, serving on its Discipleship Task Force. As a new member of the Executive Committee, she hopes to use her experience and resources to assist Christian faculty members in their individual journeys of faith. She will be working to increase networking opportunities and provide mechanisms of support for Christian faculty members facing challenging issues within academic medicine.
May 24, 2023
The Danger of an “Undignified” Bioethics
Human dignity and equality are under pronounced attack in bioethics, putting the lives of people with serious illness, disabilities, and other forms of suffering at pronounced risk. The lecture points out peril and explains real world consequences of elevating the elimination of suffering as the prime societal direction, which too often morphs int eliminating the sufferer. The lecture will discuss the dangers of Peter Singer’s philosophical viewpoints, the growling perils to the vulnerable posed by the increasing popularity of euthanasia, and how a human rights bioethics promotes human dignity and respects the human person.
Speakers:
Wesley J. Smith is Chair and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.
Wesley is a contributor to The Corner at National Review and is the author of more than 14 books, in recent years focusing exclusively on human dignity, liberty, and equality. Wesley’s most recent book is his updated and revised Culture of Death: The Age of “Do Harm” Medicine, a warning about the dangers to patients of the modern bioethics movement which was named one of the Ten Outstanding Books of the Year and Best Health Book of the Year by Independent Publishers Association. He collaborated with Ralph Nader, co-authoring four books with the consumer advocate, notably No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America.
Wesley has been recognized as one of America’s premier public intellectuals on bioethics by National Journal and was honored by the Human Life Foundation as a “Great Defender of Life” for his work against suicide and euthanasia. (Read full bio)
An attorney by training, Wesley left the full time practice of law in 1985 to pursue a career in writing and public advocacy and has since published thousands of articles, columns, and opinion pieces on issues pertaining to the moral importance of human life. Wesley addresses the entire spectrum of bioethical issues, particularly relating to conscience, patient protection, eugenics, suicide, transhumanism, medical ethics, and law and policy. Wesley’s writing has appeared nationally and internationally, including in Newsweek, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, the Weekly Standard, National Review, The Age(Australia), The Telegraph (United Kingdom), Western Journal of Medicine, and the American Journal of Bioethics.
Wesley has appeared on more than a thousand television and radio talk/interview programs, including such national shows as ABC Nightline, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, CNN Anderson Cooper 360, CNN World Report, CBS Evening News, EWTN, C-SPAN, Fox News Network, as well as nationally syndicated radio programs, including Coast to Coast, Dennis Miller, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Afternoons with Al Kresta, and EWTN. He has appeared internationally on Voice of America, CNN International, and programs originating in Great Britain (BBC), Australia (ABC), Canada (CBC), Ireland, Poland, New Zealand, Germany, China, and Mexico.
Wesley’s books include Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and the New Duty to Die, a broad-based criticism of the assisted suicide and euthanasia movement, which has become a classic in anti-euthanasia advocacy. Wesley’s Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World explores the morality, science, and business aspects of human cloning, stem cell research, and genetic engineering. A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy: The Human Cost of the Animal Rights Movement serves as Wesley’s searing critique of the ideology and tactics of the animal liberation movement and a rousing defense of the unique importance of the human person, captured by the phrase “human exceptionalism”. Wesley’s The War on Humans, serves as a companion, exposing the anti-human and misanthropic nature of radical environmentalism and a call to return to a human-friendly understanding of ecology. Additionally, Wesley’s Power Over Pain: How to Get the Pain Control You Need, co-authored with Eric M. Chevlen, MD, provides practical responses for those who are the target of Compassion and Choices and other pro-suicide and pro-euthanasia activists.
Wesley is often called upon by executive branch officials, lawmakers, and policy advocates to advise on issues within his fields of expertise. Wesley has testified as an expert witness in front of federal and state legislative committees, and has counseled government and business leaders internationally about matters pertaining to bioethics and other issues about which he advocates.
An international lecturer and public speaker, Wesley appears frequently at political, university, medical, legal, disability rights, bioethics, religious, industry, and community gatherings across the United States as well as at the United Nations and in Europe, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and other nations.
Dr. Bolender is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been involved in undergraduate medical education for over 40 years. As a classically trained anatomist, Dr. Bolender taught clinical anatomy, embryology, and cell and tissue biology. Serving 12 years on the Curriculum and Evaluation Committee, Dr. Bolender was extensively involved in curriculum design and administration. In conjunction with Elsevier Publishes, Dr. Bolender created a series of animations for teaching embryology. In addition to curriculum development, Dr. Bolender taught undergraduate medical students, graduate students and resident physicians. He and his colleagues had the pleasure of designing a modern anatomy dissection lab as well as an advanced anatomy lab for fresh tissue use by senior medical students, residents and clinical faculty. Dr. Bolender directed the body donor program at MCW for several years. For over 20 years Dr. Bolender was the advisor for the student CMDA chapter at MCW. He and his wife Joan have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.
June 21, 2023
Abstract:
Medical Bioethics and the Law: Litigation and Regulatory Updates
Federal law contains many statutes protecting rights of conscience in the practice of medicine. Yet evolving legislative and regulatory debates continually call into question whether medical professionals must set aside their best medical judgment and religious convictions in order to serve their patients. We will review recent updates in ongoing litigation to defend medical conscience rights and cover current federal proposals that could impact your practice.
Speakers:
Amy Vitale, JD, BA joined Becket as a Fellow in 2016. She previously served as Legislative Counsel to several Members of Congress, supporting their work to protect religious freedom for people of all faiths through efforts like drafting legislation and coordinating multiple Member amicus briefs to the Supreme Court. Before moving to Washington DC, she practiced law in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Amy graduated magna cum laude from Houghton College with a degree in political science and was an active member of the College Choir. She is a Blackstone Fellow and earned her law degree from Regent University School of Law, where she was Symposium Editor of the Law Review and a member of the Moot Court Board. Her family is her greatest joy.
David Larson, MD retired from his position of 27 years as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is Board certified in both Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery and is the current Chairman of the MEI Advisory Council.
July 2023 – Break
August 23, 2023
Abstract:
People of faith inevitably face conflict in this world. What does this mean for an academic medical professional? Consider the life of Daniel. He arrived in ancient Babylon as young man, received rigorous training, and served as a professional with distinction for more than 60 years. He mastered a new language and body of knowledge. He worked with talented colleagues in a complex organization. He adapted to new leaders who held him accountable for his performance. Except for a few friends, no one shared his belief in God, and some were openly hostile. Does any of this sound familiar? Despite these challenges, Daniel served without compromise. What can you and I learn from his example? We will explore this question with personal illustrations from decades of service in academic medicine.
Speakers:
Dr. Miller has been an academic plastic surgeon for more than 30 years. After training at The Ohio State University and Tulane University, he began his career in 1990 on the full-time faculty of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2007 he returned Ohio State. He served on the faculty there for 12 years and was Founding Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery. He left Ohio State in 2019 and currently serves as Section Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He has more than 200 publications and serves as manuscript reviewer for professional journals. He as been a leader in plastic surgery professional organizations including the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He has been married to his wife, Debbie, for 40 years and has two children and three grandchildren.
David Larson, MD retired from his position of 27 years as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is Board certified in both Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery and is the current Chairman of the MEI Advisory Council.
September 20, 2023
"A Christian’s Walk in Academic Medicine"
Speakers:
Dr. Manish I. Shah is a pediatric emergency medicine physician on faculty at Baylor College of Medicine as a tenured Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine. In this Division, he serves as Associate Division Head and Chief over Academic Development and Strategy. Dr. Shah has also been on the medical staff at Texas Children’s Hospital as an Attending Physician in the Emergency Center since 2007. Dr. Shah has dedicated his career to improving the care that children receive on ambulances at local, statewide, national, and international levels through advocacy, education, and research. Dr. Shah has served in several national leadership roles to advocate for the needs of children when faced with a medical emergency or traumatic injury. He has developed simulation-based courses to teach paramedics in both the Houston Fire Department and the Botswana Ministry of Health’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems, and he teaches medical students and physicians how to evaluate and manage pediatric emergencies while also mentoring them to do clinical research. Dr. Shah is a federally funded clinical researcher who has led several studies to implement evidence-based guidelines for children on ambulances. He is currently leading the Pediatric Dose Optimization for Seizures in EMS (PediDOSE) study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to enhance effectiveness of seizure treatment for children in 20 urban cities across the country. On a personal level, Dr. Shah came to faith in Christ as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Davis. He has been married to his wife, Lija, for 17 years, and they have a 14-year old son, 11-year old daughter, and a dog named Poppy. Dr. Shah and his wife are covenant partners at First Presbyterian Church (FPC) Houston, where they have worshipped for the past 19 years. Both of them participated in FPC Houston’s year-long Main Street Fellows program to understand how God intends faith and work to be integrated as an act of worship in our service to Him and our world.
John D. Mellinger, MD, FACS, currently serves as Vice President for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and is Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU) in Springfield, IL. He is the former J. Roland Folse Endowed Chair in Surgery, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery, Professor in the Department of Medical Education, and Director of Leadership and Excellence for the Center for Human and Organizational Potential at SIU, having retired from those roles in 2021. Dr. Mellinger received his MD from Case Western Reserve University, and completed residency training in general surgery at the Blodgett/St. Mary’s Hospitals in Grand Rapids, MI, followed by a fellowship in surgical endoscopy at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, OH. He has also completed a Surgical Education Research Fellowship through the Association for Surgical Education (ASE). He served on active duty in the United States Air Force, and has had academic appointments at Wright State University, Michigan State University, and the Medical College of Georgia prior to his most recent duties at SIU. His academic interests include surgical education, surgical endoscopy, gastrointestinal surgery, and international surgery. Dr. Mellinger has served on the Boards of several national organizations, including serving as a Director of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), on the Board of Governors of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), on the Council of the Central Surgical Association (CSA), and on the Board of Trustees of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). He has served on the editorial board for Annals of Surgery and the Journal of Surgical Education, and as Co-Editor in Chief for Resources in Surgical Education, an on-line peer-reviewed resource produced by the American College of Surgeons. He served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the ABS in 2020-21, is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) and SAGES, and has previously served as Academic Dean for the Commission on Medical and Dental Education of the CMDA. Dr. Mellinger has received more than 30 teaching awards, including the Outstanding Teacher Award of the ASE, the SIU system-wide Excellence in Teaching Award for Tenured Faculty, the Educator of the Year Award of the CMDA, and the Jeffrey L. Ponsky Master Educator in Endoscopy Award from SAGES. Dr. Mellinger has presented over 200 national and international presentations and over 50 eponymal lectureships or visiting professor programs. He has co-authored 130 peer reviewed publications and review articles, 30 book chapters, and one book. Dr. Mellinger is married to his wife of 39 years, Elaine, and has 4 children and 12 grandchildren.
Dr. Andre Cipta serves as the Program Director of the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Founding Director of the KP Palliative Medicine Mid-Career Fellowship, Palliative Medicine Clerkship Director at the KP Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, and Associate Medical Director of the KP Los Angeles Hospice Agency. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is a recipient of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Leadership Scholar Scholarship Award and holds the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor at the KP Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. His interest in serving those in need led him to study Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley, spend a year in seminary, and complete a Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a palliative medicine physician, he finds profound meaning in supporting those living with advanced illness and is passionate about training future generations of clinicians to further optimize care for the seriously ill. Dr. Cipta has a strong interest in innovation, particularly within the realm of medical education. As Fellowship Director, he added an innovative mid-career fellowship track in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania through the ACGME Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) program and expanded the program from two to four fellowship positions (two traditional, two midcareer), which is embedded in a unique, longitudinal curriculum spanning across palliative care settings. He created the Palliative Extubation Simulation- Based Formative Activity for both graduate and undergraduate medical learners, which was presented at the AAHPM Annual Assembly and published as an abstract in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM). He served as a senior author for a narrative review on palliative extubation, published in JPSM. He co-created a novel wellness curriculum entitled, “iRISE (Initiative for Resiliency, Introspection, Self-care, and Empathy),” which was awarded an innovations grant and presented at numerous national conferences. His research interests lie primarily in exploring the role of spirituality in optimizing whole-person, patient-centered care, which led him to train at faith-based institutions, including Loma Linda University Medical Center and Glendale Adventist Medical Center for medical school and residency, respectively. He published as a first author on the topic of spiritual distress in serious illness in the BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care Journal and co-authored a paper on training researchers in the field of religion, spirituality, and health. He was awarded the Christian Academic Physicians and Scientists Faith and Medicine Research Fellowship Award, through which he is being mentored by Dr. Harold Koenig from Duke University. He is currently the Principal Investigator for a mixed- methods study exploring the barriers to patient-centered physician and patient prayer.
October 25, 2023
Abstract:
The New Modern Families will cover the medical, ethical, and legal issues surrounding third-party conception. Particular attention will be given to the practice of egg and sperm "donation", surrogacy (altruistic vs. commercial and gestational vs. "traditional") and the rights of children born through assisted reproduction.
Speakers:
JENNIFER LAHL, MA, BSN, RN
CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.
In 2009, Lahl was associate producer of the documentary film Lines That Divide: The Great Stem Cell Debate, which was an official selection of the 2010 California Independent Film Festival. In 2010, she made her writing and directing debut producing the documentary film Eggsploitation, which has been awarded Best Documentary by the California Independent Film Festival and has sold in more than 30 countries. An updated and expanded version of Eggsploitation was released in the fall of 2013. She is also Director, Executive Producer, and co-writer of Anonymous Father’s Day (2011), a documentary film exploring the stories of women and men who were created by anonymous sperm donation. In 2014 she completed what is now a trilogy of films on the ethics of third-party reproduction with Breeders: A Subclass of Women?, which focuses on surrogacy. In July 2015, she released a documentary short Maggie's Story, which follows one woman’s egg donation journey. Compassion and Choice: Denied (2016) is a short documentary on physician assisted suicide. Lahl’s next feature film, #BigFertility was released in the fall of 2018. Her most recent film, Trans Mission: What’s the Rush to Reassign Gender? was just released in June of 2021. Always using film as a way to communicate and educate, her forthcoming film, The Detransition Diaries: Saving Our Sisters,is set to release Fall 2022. All of her films are available for FREE streaming on The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network's YouTube channel.
Dr. Bolender is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been involved in undergraduate medical education for over 40 years. As a classically trained anatomist, Dr. Bolender taught clinical anatomy, embryology, and cell and tissue biology. Serving 12 years on the Curriculum and Evaluation Committee, Dr. Bolender was extensively involved in curriculum design and administration. In conjunction with Elsevier Publishes, Dr. Bolender created a series of animations for teaching embryology. In addition to curriculum development, Dr. Bolender taught undergraduate medical students, graduate students and resident physicians. He and his colleagues had the pleasure of designing a modern anatomy dissection lab as well as an advanced anatomy lab for fresh tissue use by senior medical students, residents and clinical faculty. Dr. Bolender directed the body donor program at MCW for several years. For over 20 years Dr. Bolender was the advisor for the student CMDA chapter at MCW. He and his wife Joan have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.
November 15, 2023
Abstract:
Spirituality and religion (R/S) are important components of patient-centered, whole-person care, and are positively associated with physical health (Balboni, 2022; Jim, 2015; Koenig, 2012). Given the prevalence of exposure and size of effect, religious participation can be considered a powerful social determinant of health (VanderWeele, 2017; Idler, 2014). Most physicians believe spirituality has a positive effect on the physical and mental well-being of patients, and patients view spiritual health as important as physical health (McCord, 2004). Patients also believe that their physicians should be aware of their religious and spiritual beliefs and desire to have spiritual discussions with their physicians (McCord, 2004; MaClean, 2003). Prayer is an activity related to R/S and is the most common spiritual practice among patients facing illness (Alcorn, 2010; Balboni, 2007). There is increasing interest in understanding the role and effects of prayer in healthcare (Simão, 2016) and the physician’s role (Christensen, 2018). Patients’ desire for physician prayer increases with the severity of illnesses, as half of patients agree with physician prayer in situations where death is near (MaClean, 2003). Positive health outcomes have been associated with prayer, including improved pain and anxiety (Illueca, 2020; Ferreira-Valente, 2020; Simão, 2016). There is a lack of research to guide best practices to ensure patient-centered physician and patient prayer. Physician prayer can be patient-centered but also has the risk of negatively impacting the patient-physician relationship and patient care (Balboni, 2011). Patients may feel coerced into praying if their physicians ask to pray with them. Currently, the standard of care is to not ask patients if they want prayer from their physicians or healthcare team, but to wait for patients to ask for prayer. An oncology study revealed that in advanced cancer settings, most patients, nurses, and physicians view patientpractitioner prayer as at least occasionally appropriate. Practitioner-initiated prayer was considered to be at least occasionally appropriate, which is counter to the assertion that prayer should always be patient initiated (Balboni, 2011). According to a survey done among oncologists, if prayer provides comfort to the patient and physicians are comfortable praying with the patient, then it would be beneficial to do in keeping with a physician’s mission (Balboni, 2011). Studies exploring reasons why physicians pray or do not pray with their patients are sparse. Using a mixed quantitative and qualitative design, this research study seeks to explore the challenges and barriers associated with physicians praying with their patients. There exist various types of prayer, including silent, active, or distant intercessory prayer (MacLean, 2004). This study focuses on active or silent relational prayer which is defined as a personal and intimate communication with the sacred in the context of a dynamic relationship (Leon, 2020). Our hypothesis is that there are physicians who have a desire to pray with their patients who desire physician prayer but rarely or never pray with their patients because of lack of training, practice setting (e.g., inpatient vs outpatient, faith-based vs secular institution, geographical location), and/or a fear of institutional disciplinary action. Qualitatively we will explore influences on physician prayer with patients through interviewing a subsample of participants who meet a selection-criteria, aiming to understand their experiences, perspectives, and potential barriers to physician and patient prayer. Identifying and understanding barriers to physician prayer would help guide next steps in establishing best practices for patient centered physician and patient prayer.
Speakers:
Dr. Andre Cipta serves as the Program Director of the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Founding Director of the KP Palliative Medicine Mid-Career Fellowship, Palliative Medicine Clerkship Director at the KP Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, and Associate Medical Director of the KP Los Angeles Hospice Agency. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He is a recipient of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Leadership Scholar Scholarship Award and holds the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor at the KP Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine. His interest in serving those in need led him to study Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley, spend a year in seminary, and complete a Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a palliative medicine physician, he finds profound meaning in supporting those living with advanced illness and is passionate about training future generations of clinicians to further optimize care for the seriously ill. Dr. Cipta has a strong interest in innovation, particularly within the realm of medical education. As Fellowship Director, he added an innovative mid-career fellowship track in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania through the ACGME Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) program and expanded the program from two to four fellowship positions (two traditional, two midcareer), which is embedded in a unique, longitudinal curriculum spanning across palliative care settings. He created the Palliative Extubation Simulation- Based Formative Activity for both graduate and undergraduate medical learners, which was presented at the AAHPM Annual Assembly and published as an abstract in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (JPSM). He served as a senior author for a narrative review on palliative extubation, published in JPSM. He co-created a novel wellness curriculum entitled, “iRISE (Initiative for Resiliency, Introspection, Self-care, and Empathy),” which was awarded an innovations grant and presented at numerous national conferences. His research interests lie primarily in exploring the role of spirituality in optimizing whole-person, patient-centered care, which led him to train at faith-based institutions, including Loma Linda University Medical Center and Glendale Adventist Medical Center for medical school and residency, respectively. He published as a first author on the topic of spiritual distress in serious illness in the BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care Journal and co-authored a paper on training researchers in the field of religion, spirituality, and health. He was awarded the Christian Academic Physicians and Scientists Faith and Medicine Research Fellowship Award, through which he is being mentored by Dr. Harold Koenig from Duke University. He is currently the Principal Investigator for a mixed- methods study exploring the barriers to patient-centered physician and patient prayer.
Harold G. Koenig, MD, MHSc. Dr. Koenig completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, his medical school training at the University of California at San Francisco, and his geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and biostatistics training at Duke University. He is board certified in general psychiatry, and formerly boarded in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and geriatric psychiatry. He is on the faculty at Duke University Medical Center as Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Medicine, is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in the School of Public Health at Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China. Dr. Koenig has over 600 scientific peer-reviewed academic publications, nearly 100 book chapters, and more than 60 books. His research has been featured on many national and international TV programs (including ABC’s World News Tonight, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz Show, NBC Nightly News) and hundreds of national and international radio programs and newspapers/magazines (including Reader's Digest, Parade Magazine, Newsweek, Time). Dr. Koenig has given testimony before the U.S. Senate (1998) and U.S. House of Representatives (2008) concerning the benefits of religious involvement on public health. He is the recipient of the 2012 Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association and the 2013 Gary Collins award from the American Association of Christian Counselors, and the 2021 Frank Minirth Award for Excellence in Christian Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine from AACC. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Religion and Health and is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine.
Finally, Dr. Koenig is lead author of the Handbook of Religion and Health, 3rd edition (2023, Oxford University Press, forthcoming, with professors Tyler VanderWeele, Ph.D., TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, and John Raymond Peteet, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School). He also co-led the 2022 Professional Development Training Course (PDTC) that trained over 1000 U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard chaplains and religious program specialists on “Spiritual Readiness” for combat operations by military personnel. He is lead author of Spiritual Readiness: Essentials for Military Leaders and Chaplains (2022) and Moral Injury: A Handbook for Military Chaplains (2023), both available on Amazon.com.