RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY CURRICULUM IN UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION - A HISTORY AND REVIEW

Abstract

Religious and spiritual belief plays a key role in a patient's medical decision-making. Patients may reject or advocate treatments that are alternative to accepted standards of care. Additionally, religious and spiritual beliefs are most commonly found in difficult medical situations: birth, death, and chronic illnesses. Despite this, medical schools do little to prepare future physicians for interacting with patients with strongly held religious and spiritual beliefs that may differ from their own religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as the prescribed standards of care. This review sought to assess the current curriculum of undergraduate medical education (UGME) in the United States on religion and spirituality's intersection with medicine. Additionally, a history of religion in medicine is provided to further justify the importance of religion and spirituality in medical education. This review concludes by providing curriculum recommendations and examples of successful evidence-based religion and spirituality curricula that medical schools may adopt to increase the cultural humility and preparedness of their future physicians.