Medics Without Borders

Clinical Pastoral Care

Medical science has been known for centuries as a bed-fellow of spirituality. Yet many people do not understand why spirituality should be incorporated into health care delivery. Spirituality demonstrates that people are not merely physical bodies that require mechanical care. People find that their spirituality helps them maintain health and cope with illnesses, traumas, losses, and life transitions by integrating body, mind and spirit with medical care. When facing crisis, most people often turn to their spiritual belief as a means of support and assurance. Many believe in its capacity to aid in the recovery from disease and others believe in the healing power of personal prayers, using it or other spiritual practices during illness.

Religious beliefs may encourage or forbid certain behaviours that impact healthcare. Most people, both inside and outside traditional religious structures, report profound experiences of transcendence, wonder, awe, joy, and connection to nature, self, and others as they strive to make their lives meaningful and to maintain hope when illness strikes. Support for their efforts is appropriately thought of as spiritual care because their search leads to spiritual questions such as "why do I exist? Why am I ill? Will I die? And What will happen to me when I die?" Medical institutions that ignore the spiritual dimension in their mission statement or daily provision of care increase their risk of becoming only "biological garages where dysfunctional human parts are repaired or replaced" (Gibbons & Miller, 1989). Such "prisons of technical mercy" (Berry, 1994) obscure the integrity and scope of persons.

While it is a biological event, serious illness frightens patients and isolates them from their supporting communities when they need them most. Losses such as physical and cognitive capacities, independence, work or family status, and emotional equilibrium, along with the accompanying grief, can seriously impact their sense of meaning, purpose, and personal worth. Professional chaplains who are trained in health care practices, address these crises through spiritual teachings that emphasize transcendence and enhance connections to support communities, thus aiding healing and recovery. They listen for the impact of medical information on patients and families, uniquely facilitating an understanding of the technical language of medical professionals.

Compassion and comfort become important for care when illness is chronic or incurable. Approaching death can engender serious spiritual questions that contribute to anxiety, depression, hopelessness and despair. Professional clinical chaplains bring time-tested spiritual resources that help patients focus on transcendent meaning, purpose, and value in life. It is the duty of Medics Without Borders to provide medicine and spiritual fulfillment to all those who walk through our doors.

If you have the time and desire to volunteer with us, please, fill out the following forms and email them to info@medicswithoutborders.org or info@mwbhealthsystems.org

1. Application Form 2. Medical Release Form