Healing and Spirituality - Essay Example

? Healing and Spirituality Healing and Spirituality Question Components of healing hospitals and their relationship to spirituality The concept of healing originates from the Anglo-Saxon word haelen which can be translated to mean making whole. This can be understood as the creation of harmony between mind, body and spirit. Healing is often distinguished from curing, which implies complete eradication of a disease or reducing the symptoms associated with it (Marberry, 2006). Healing on the other hand can occur even when the patient has not fully recovered from the ailment. For instance, patients suffering from chronic diseases can experience healing despite their condition. Conversely, some patients may be cured but they may not feel healed, for instance a breast cancer patient may still find herself grieving about her situation despite going into remission. The main aim of healing hospitals is to enhance harmony of a patient’s mind, body and spirit (Marberry, 2006).. With this in mind it is necessary to create an environment that reduces the patient’s anxiety, stress and which can positively impact on the patient’s health and steer him or her towards recovery. The concept of healing the healing hospital is based on three main components namely; the physical environment, the integration of technology and work design and a caring and loving culture. The physical environment refers to the patient’s general surrounding in the cause of the illness. This includes the people around the patient and the nature of the room. A good physical environment is one that makes the patient comfortable and less anxious (Marberry S. 2006). A noisy and confused environment increases the patient’s anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure which slow down the healing process. A renowned medical scholar, Florence Nightingale, suggested that the best environment that supports healing is on e that is quite and allows the patient access to natural lighting and fresh air. The other component of healing hospital is the integration of technology and work design. This entails medical stuff and physicians employing the most advanced technology to facilitate the patients’ healing process (Marberry S. 2006). The latest technology available can be easily be integrated with the working design of the hospital to enable staff and physicians to identify the best ways possible to make the patient comfortable. The last and most critical element of hospital healing is the hospital’s culture. This entails the organization adopting a philosophy that revolves around a caring and loving culture. It involves how the medical staffs treat and relate with patients and their families or their care takers. A strong compassionate culture facilitates healing through a holistic approach which seeks to address the patient’s physical, emotional and spiritual feeling. Since healing is a holistic approach aimed at creating harmony between one’s mind, body and spirit, spirituality is a very important element in the healing process (Marberry S. 2006). In instances where physicians may have different religious practices and beliefs, they should not let their personal bias affect the way they perceive their patient’s spirituality. Spirituality and healing are closely intertwined. It is very important for health care providers in healing hospital to consider their patient’s spirituality and religious beliefs in order to promote a good healing environment. When patients are allowed to practice their spiritual beliefs, they will feel more comfortable with their treatment and hence move faster toward healing. Question 2; Challenges of creating a healing environment Despite it being necessary for health care providers to create a good healing environment, there are various challenges that make this a difficult task. One of the biggest challenges in this aspect is finance. Creating an environment conducive for healing requires huge financial investment which most health organizations lack. Enabling a good physical environment for instance, will require structural adjustments to buildings and hospital equipment (Marberry, 2006). Employing the best and latest technology available in treatment also requires huge amounts of money. These financial challenges have been one of the biggest stumbling blocks as far as creating a good healing environment is concerned. The other challenge health care organization encounter in enabling a good healing environment is staff shortage. Being able to take care of patients effectively during the healing process requires enough highly qualified medical staff. There is however a shortage of highly qualified medical practitioners who can enable patients get the required care and love they need during the healing process. Organizations may have good structures but this inadequacy of human resource hinders further developments aimed at enabling a quick healing and recovery process. The other big challenge in creating a good healing environment is technology. Changes in technology occur very fast. This requires health care organizations to keep changing their operations from time to time so as to make the patient comfortable (Marberry, 2006). The latest technology is always the most expensive and out of reach for most health care providers. Without these latest technological equipments, it is very difficult for most organizations to create good healing environment for their patients. Question 3; Biblical passage about healing There are so many bible verses that talk about healing, especially in the New Testament. One of them is Luke 8: 43-48, where Jesus heals a woman who had been a victim of bleeding for a period of twelve years. Jesus was a preaching to a multitude crowd and the sick woman happened to be there. She could not be reach to Jesus to explain to her problem for her to be healed. She however believed that she could be healed only if she had the chance to access a piece of Jesus’ cloth. She was healed after she touched the helm of Jesus’ clothe based on her faith that she could experience healing after touching Jesus’ clothes from the huge crowd. This biblical passage supports the concept of healing and the importance of one’s faith. In the passage, Jesus stressed that the woman had been healed because of her faith. Basing on this biblical passage, healthcare providers should also allow their patients to exercise their faith and religious beliefs during their healing process. One’s faith enables him or her to feel comfortable because of the belief that they are bound to overcome their current ailments through supernatural powers from God. Reference Marberry S. (2006). Improving Healthcare with Better Building Design. Chicago, IL: Health Management Press; 2006. Read More