Spirituality and Primary Care Medicine: Clinical, Personal and Organizational Approaches [pdf]
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Frederic C. Craigie, PhD
FACULTY: Richard F. Hobbs, III, MD
Cathleen E. Morrow, MD Karen Gershman, MD
John Woytowizc, MD
Chaplain Raymond B. Anderson
Chaplain Dr. Elbert Brewster
Chaplain Margaret Crowell
Chaplain Paulette Ducharme
Since its beginning, the Maine-Dartmouth Family Practice Residency has been an environment that is hospitable to the dignity and sacredness of what it means to be a doctor and to provide clinical care to patients. Our research and teaching has suggested to us that the integration of spirituality in primary care medicine embraces three interrelated dimensions ...
- a clinical dimension having to do with how we understand and nurture the spirituality of patients and families, (e.g., supporting what is vital and sacred in patients’ lives)
- a personal dimension having to do with how we as providers nourish a spirit of peace and centeredness in our own lives, (e.g., by retaining a connection to our sense of calling or vocation)
- an organizational dimension having to do with tending to the spirit or soul of the health care organizations in which we practice (e.g., by supporting a shared understanding of mission and values, a spirit of community among workers, and visionary/servant leadership approaches)
Our program for the coming year intends to explore each of these areas with residents and faculty. Activities will include:
- Faculty development and faculty-resident retreats
- Regular didactic conferences, which will be interdisciplinary and offer opportunities for dialogue with medical and pastoral caregivers
- Clinical interviewing of selected patients with reflecting teams of faculty, residents and chaplain staff
- Examining the spirituality of geriatric patients by videotaping of clinical encounters and journaling
- Soul of Medicine conferences, exploring our understanding of vocation and times when spirituality has been visible in the personal experience of the work we do
- Quarterly spirituality interest group dinners and conversations at faculty members’ homes
- Senior seminars on spirituality, organizational culture and leadership
- Faculty and resident participation in our 17th annual Thomas Nevola MD Symposium on Spirituality and Health.