AMA Journal of Ethics^®

The range of opinions on the extent to which physicians should attend to their patients’ spiritual lives and the arguments that support those opinions.

A look through the eyes of an emergency room physician in Baghdad at a 5-year-old boy who died for his grandfather’s religious beliefs.

The range of opinions on the extent to which physicians should attend to their patients’ spiritual lives and the arguments that support those opinions.

Should doctors ask about their patients' religious or spiritual beliefs?

The range of opinions on the extent to which physicians should attend to their patients’ spiritual lives and the arguments that support those opinions.

The clinician/healer must both address the disease and seek to know how the medical condition is being experienced by the patient—what impact it has on his or her life and spirit.

Despite the possible conflict between evidence-based and cultural competence approaches to medical care, both embody the ideals of medical ethics.

Despite the possible conflict between evidence-based and cultural competence approaches to medical care, both embody the ideals of medical ethics.

The Culture, Narrative, and Medicine course at Loyola University of Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine teaches cultural humility through literature and students' reflective writing.

Physicians face ethical dilemmas when patients request medical help in pursuing behavior the physician believes is immoral.