Syllabus

With so many topics to cover, Lawrence Wood's readings for Spirituality and Healing in Medicine are almost as endless as the subjects that fall under the course's heading. Here's a sampling:

Week 1: Managing Death and Dying in the Intensive Care Unit
Among the readings was a chapter from psychiatrist and self-help author M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety (Simon & Schuster, 1997). An article from the July 1988 Southern Medical Journal, "Positive Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population," summarized a study of how being prayed for by others affected patients' health. And "Beliefs and Attitudes of Hospital Inpatients about Faith Healing and Prayer," from the October 1994 Journal of Family Practice, reported that 48 percent of patients in the study said they wanted their doctors to pray with them.

Week 4: Complementary or Integrative Medicine: Acupuncture, Herbal Therapy, and Homeopathy
Doctor David M. Eisenberg's article, "Advising Patients Who Seek Alternative Medical Therapies," from the July 1, 1997, Annals of Internal Medicine, offers physicians a strategy for incorporating alternative therapies into their practice. He emphasizes the importance of discussing the pros and cons with patients-making sure, for instance, they aren't taking too much of a potentially dangerous herb. Another study, "Life-threatening Adverse Reactions After Acupuncture? A Systemic Review," in the June 1997 Pain, looked at the safety of acupuncture, discussing risks such as infection and tissue trauma.