A recently published survey reports that 57 percent of randomly surveyed adults believe God’s intervention could save a dying family member even if physicians determine the patient is terminal.  75 percent of those same adults said they should have the right to demand faith healing in such situations, and more surprisingly, the survey indicated that 20 percent of doctors and other medical workers said God could reverse a hopeless medical outcome.

 

The survey involved 1,000 U.S. adults randomly selected to answer questions by telephone regarding their views on end-of-life medical care. The survey was conducted in 2005, and included 774 doctors, nurses and other medical workers who were surveyed via mail in questions.

 

The medical researchers involved in studying the effect of prayer on illness indicate that doctors and medical professionals should keep this study in mind when dealing with family members of patients.  “Sensitivity to this belief will promote development of a trusting relationship and help doctors explain objective, overwhelming scientific evidence showing that continued treatment would be worthless.”  Though assuming that patients will be comforted by superstition once all promise of medical resolution is extinguished seems like a bit of a stretch to me.

 

Dr. Lenworth Jacobs, a respected University of Connecticut surgery professor and trauma chief at Hartford Hospital, was the lead author in the new poll. Since treatment advances have allowed patients to survive longer, and hospital trauma specialists to become “… much more heavily engaged in the death process,” Jacobs says he frequently meets people who think God will save their dying loved one and who, therefore, want medical procedures to continue. “You can’t say, ‘That’s nonsense.’ You have to respect that and then try to show them medical evidence indicating death is imminent.”

 

Pat Loder, a Michigan woman who once relied on her religious faith to get through the death of her two children, killed in a car accident, has changed her views somewhat regarding faith and healing.  “While doctors should be prepared to deal with those beliefs,” she says, “they also shouldn’t ‘sugarcoat’ the truth about a patient’s condition.”

 

There are times when hospitals have to take families to court when they refuse to see the truth regarding a patient’s condition.  Dr. Michael Sise, a Catholic doctor working in a Catholic hospital, said miracles don’t happen when medical evidence shows death is near.  Getting a patient’s family to understand that reality, however, is sometimes very difficult.  Sise recalled a child, mortally injured in a gang beating, and a mother who “absolutely did not want to withdraw” medical equipment despite the severity of her child’s brain injuries, which ensured she would never wake up, “The mom was playing religious tapes in the room, and obviously was very focused on looking for a miracle.” said Sise. 

 

Reality is never enough to keep the religious minded from seeking miracles, so I am sure the faithful will keep up their futile search despite any medical or scientific evidence to the contrary.

 

Source: MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26272687/

Yahoo news:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080818/ap_on_he_me/med_god_vs_doctors