Coping with the Practice of Medicine: Religion, Spirituality, and Other Personal Strategies. 2021

Cindy Schmidt, and Marissa Roffler
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Kansas City University, 1750 Independence Avenue, Kansas City, MO, USA. Cschmidt@kansascity.edu.

With the increasing demands on the practice of medicine, this qualitative study asked residents and their faculty (n = 44) to reflect on how they cope with their work. They provided written reflections to questions about successful and disappointing patient experiences, as well as describing their personal, religious, or spiritual practices. Key themes included connecting with family and friends, learning from their mistakes, using cognitive behavioral tools, and engaging with their spirituality and religiosity. One third specifically mentioned they used prayer and/or meditation. We contextualized selected quotes with their level of spiritual well-being, religiosity, and burnout.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D012067 Religion A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.) Prayer,Religious Beliefs,Religious Ethics,Beliefs, Religious,Ethic, Religious,Prayers,Religions,Religious Belief
D012068 Religion and Medicine The interrelationship of medicine and religion. Religiosity Coping,Spiritual Coping,Medicine and Religion,Coping, Religiosity,Coping, Spiritual,Religiosity Copings
D005178 Faculty TEACHING and administrative staff having academic rank in a post-secondary educational institution. University Professor,Professor, University,Professors, University,University Professors
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological
D029181 Spirituality Sensitivity or attachment to religious values, or to things of the spirit as opposed to material or worldly interests. (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed, and Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed) Spiritual Sensitivity,Sensitivities, Spiritual,Sensitivity, Spiritual,Spiritual Sensitivities,Spiritualities
D036301 Qualitative Research Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997) Research, Qualitative

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