Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Essay

Nurses and all other healthcare workers come in contact with people of different faiths and religion on a daily bases. In the hospital, it is very critical to encourage religions participation when it is needed. This article points out the authors and Christians perspective in comparison to the Buddhism, Muslim, and Hindu faith approaches to healing. Cultural and spiritual diversity must be allowed in the hospitals as well as health care environments in order to provide complete healing. Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity  Spirituality is piece of human existence that is hard to assimilate. Every individual welcomes spirituality differently based on their set of values and experiences. Spirituality is multidimensional and we have proof of its benefits in healthcare and healings. Each person gets their spiritual experience and beliefs from their relationships with the family, the individual and their faith exposure (Anandarajah & Hight, 2001). The intent of this paper is to recorgnize the Author’s spirituality inclination with regards to healing and its important parts. I will first present my Christian viewpoint and method to healing, then the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim faiths viewpoints will be compared to the Christians approach to healing. In the conclusion, I will summarize my findings from the comparison of these religions and concepts, then apply them this writer’s health care practice. Author’s Spiritual Perspective on Healing The essentials of this writer’s viewpoint on healing is rooted on her faith and trust in God. She understands the fine line you have to walk when looking for health suggestions as a result of sickness. Her faith led her to believe that God is the ultimate healer of any sickness. The Bible points out sufficient proof that is the ultimate healer of any sickness and the lack of faith is seen as a road block. This is very well illustrated in the story of Asa. She was infected by a disease in his leg. According to the Bible, we were told that although, her sickness was very serious she did not go to God for healing, but instead went to the doctors for help. Second Chronicles 16:12 (NIV) tells us that he died of her sickness. The author is a firm believer of the power of prayers and asking others to pray for you or with you. Every Christian believes in The Holy Spirit and has Him in their hearts, as He prays for us â€Å"in accordance with God’s will† Romans 8:26-27 (NIV), we should pray for one another. This is what God wants us to do. â€Å"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you† First Samuel 12:23(NIV). Christian Perspective and Approach to Healing Christians are firm believers that God can heal everybody at any moment in time. Jesus performed many healings here on earth. He used this to prove to all mankind that he is the son of God. Jesus cured so many diseases and sicknesses Matthew 9:35 (NIV). He cured many diseases just by speaking to the people Matthew 8:8(NIV), a woman touched His cloak and she was cured of her bleeding, instantly Mark 5:28(NIV). God can heal people in so many ways. This is the believe of many Christians. Believers are told for pray for God’s healing, however, they are not promised the answer to the prayers or in what form the answers will come. People still visit their Doctors to cure their diseases, but a combination of Doctor’s visits and prayers are usually recommended. The strong faith that Christians have in God’s dominion makes them to believe that God is in charge of all circumstances. The members of the church community receive support from their members through prayer. The church as a family unit gives solid encouragement to its members by providing good support for healing. The bible is God’s words to us and it provides encouragement and understanding through His word. Comparing a Buddhist Approach to Healing As a young boy, Buddha studied the science of medicine. He acquired a good knowledge and types and healing of diseases. He has the believe of life after death and rebirth and the aging process. His understanding of illness and dying allowed him to lead people and educate them about living a healthy life cycle (Bhikshu, n. d. ). Christians have a different view of this. Christians believed that every human being has a soul but Buddhist don’t share this same view. Buddha teaches logical everyday instructions for handling any physical injury and psychological sickness but Christians view is on trust in God’s will and to be merciful to them. Buddhists faith is focused on cause and effect as opposed to the faith that Christians put in Jesus’ healing power. Both faiths approach health and healing from a spiritual practice. Christianity and Buddhism beliefs in health and healing are the same but they differ with the goals. The Buddhists view of spirituality is to build and have a caring mind set towards those that are suffering as result of illness. But Christians focus in God’s mercies to healing them and accepting the will of God. There are leader in the church and temple that can be invited to help them (Bhikshu). Buddhist chant when they pray. And just like Christians, families are asked to join them in prayer in other to achieve their goal. In both religions, the patients concern is to eliminate pain and suffering. The will rather do it without pharmacological treatments. This is to give them a clear mind. Buddhism patients benefit from peace and quietness for the purpose of meditation (Ehman, 2007). Neither faiths teach to fear death, but in the Buddhist faith the rituals done to the body right before and after death are extremely crucial to the next cycle of life for the body while the Christian faith hold to the faith the soul has gone to heaven and that it is just the physical body that is left. Comparing a Muslim Approach to Healing The Qur’an together with the prophet Muhammad, is similar to the Christian Bible and Jesus. They are both full of citations to the use of reason in all aspects of human life including healing practices. Muslims and Christians both are of the believe that Allah nor God created diseases. Muslims are certain that Allah created the treatment to the illnesses. They also believe that praying and supplication, recitation of the Qur’an and accepting Allah, is significant in the healing process. They also accept the importance of modern medicine. It is like like the Christian believe in accepting God and the power of prayers in the healing process (Yousif, n. d. ). The Muslims explanation of illness is that diseases can be a form of knowledge by which man attains personal experience with Allah. Both Christianity and Islam (Muslim) accept the fact that life and death comes from God and that its beyond human control. (Yousif,n. d. ) Both religions value the importance of prayers, but the Muslim faith enforces the amount and your position while you say your prayers. A Muslim patient will become upset if they are not able to participate in their daily prayers. When this happens, their clergy should be made aware of it as soon as possible. A Muslim patient has higher tolerance for pain because complaining is viewed as a sign of weakness. Muslims have stricter food and hygiene requirements because of their religion compared to most Christians. Majority of Muslims practice vegetarian diets and it is their belief that running water is necessary to be completely cleaned. Both Christians and Muslims values family importance but at death someone in the family must whisper declaration of faith to the dead. Christians are not required to fast at any given time but for Muslims, it’s a must during the Ramadan. (Ehman, 2007). Comparing a Hindu Approach to Healing Hinduism is a very complex belief system. It is not just religion but a way of life like their Christian counterpart. The name â€Å"Hinduism† comes from the word â€Å"India† and points to so many religious practices and viewpoints that have been in existence in India more than a thousand years ago. Hindu encourages the worship of so many Gods, believe in reincarnation, value the tradition of meditation. They family unit and the power of prayer are valuable in the healing process. Christians accept God’s will, but Karma in Hindu gives an explanation to what happened (Sukumaran, n. d. ). Modesty is expected from the opposite sex care giver, their diet of choice is vegetarian, fast is very frequent. Hindus have a great respect for medical professionals, but many are quite wary of drugs and pills. If drugs are given, try to explain what it is for and what the effects are. Natural and homeopathic medicine is preferred over drugs and surgery in most cases. Conclusion Religious diversity is more prominent than ever before in the United States hospitals. This author appreciates both the similarities and differences presented in comparing Christianity’s’ perspective to healing and those of the Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu faiths. Prayer, clergy, family, and reflection seem to be the common thread throughout all of these faiths. The view of the body, death, and life cycles seem to show the most differences. This writer and caregiver was enlightened to respect and enhance peaceful environments for meditation and reflection and promote family involvement whenever possible for all patients.