Spiritual Caregiving: Health Care As a Ministry
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
With today's cumbersome insurance procedures, government regulations, endless paperwork, and concerns about malpractice rates, many healthcare professionals are asking: "Why am I doing this? Am I making a difference to my patients? Is there a better way-and if so, what is it?" In this book, Carson and Koenig examine the state of the healthcare system with the goal of providing healthcare professionals and caregivers the inspiration and practical tools to re-claim their sense of purpose.
The book begins with an evaluation of the current system from the perspective of the spiritual vision that initially motivated and nourished many caregivers. The authors then pose a vision of a healthcare system that supports and nurtures the spirituality of patients and their families, of which some elements already exist.
An overview is provided on the preparation necessary for healthcare professionals to offer spiritual care when there are major implications-for people with chronic illnesses, psychiatric issues, devastating injuries, and those preparing for surgery, facing death, and those living with chronic pain. Also explored are ways that health professionals and caregivers can maintain their own spiritual health even as they work to bring about healing, comfort, and solace to others.
Woven throughout the book are the personal narratives of physicians, nurses, chaplains, healthcare educators, community resource workers, administrators, therapists, and psychologists-all from a wide range of religious traditions. Their examples inspire and assist professionals in renewing the spiritual focus of healthcare.
About the Author
Verna Benner Carson, Ph.D., is the national director of behavioral health at Staff Builders Home Health and Hospice. She was an associate professor of psychiatric nursing at the University of Maryland School of Nursing for twenty-one years. She is the author of four books, including Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice. She lives in Fallston, Maryland
Harold G. Koenig, M.D., is associate professor of psychiatry and associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He is the director and founder of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, is editor of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, editor-in-chief of Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology, and has published extensively in the fields of mental health, geriatrics, and religion, with over 150 scientific peer-reviewed articles, 35 book chapters, and 16 books. His most recent book is The Handbook of Religion and Health: A Century of Research Reviewed. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Spiritual Caregiving: Health Care As a Ministry,Verna Benner Carson,Harold George Koenig,Templeton Foundation Press,1932031553,Caregivers,General,Medical / Nursing,Medical personnel,Medicine,Nursing - Nurse & Patient,Physician & Patient,Religion,Religious aspects,Religious life,Spirituality - General,Health systems & services,Spirituality
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