Liberty University
Ethics in Health Science
MSCI 640
Journal Assignment Entry 5
Medicine Assignment
Journal Entry 5: Medicine
This week's journal entry assignment raised the question of the use of medicine and if it
is enough. The options given in this assignment were prayer, prescription, or pastoral care to
treat somebody of illness. This week was the first time I have ever heard about pastoral care.
Pastoral care consists of being concerned holistically, this includes physical, emotional, social,
and spiritual wellbeing. Some people like to think of pastoral care being an additional way to
help speed up the healing process. Patients in hospitals have access to a chaplain or religious
figure who provides religious guidance. Unfortunately, according to Person’s article, Chaplains
and the role of Spiritual Care in Healthcare, it states that only sixty percent of hospitals located in
the United States have a chaplain. The other forty percent of hospitals rely on community and
volunteer support, though this can be insufficient in the healthcare setting. A hospital chaplain is
trained to be in the clinical setting, training for 1,600 hours specifically for healthcare settings.
The hospital chaplain is clinically trained to navigate the healthcare experience and has similar
skill sets as social workers, however, specialize in faith and different cultures. In a way, I would
assume that pastoral care and prayer go somewhat hand in hand with one another. I personally
have never met or seen a chaplain in the hospital however I feel as if they are very helpful in
bringing the patient’s from darkness into the light. The same concept goes with the friends and
families that have a hard time trying to be positive. Though, the patient, friends, and families can
be better effected by the chaplain's wisdom if they are willing to accept their words and grace. I
personally do not think that volunteer or community support is sufficient for a person who comes
from a religious background.
Prayer plays a big impact in healthcare in my opinion. I think that when people are at
their most vulnerable states, they would reach out to God and pray even though they may not
have a religious background. I have heard stories from people that were hospitalized due to
COVID coming home with their relationship closer to God than ever. Sometimes God puts these
scary moments into our lives so we can reach out to Him and give Him the opportunity to show
us how powerful He is along with how much love He has for us. Growing up, I had always been
told “pray about it” when dealing with problems in my life. It is nice to know that there is a God
who is looking out for every one of us and does not make me feel hopeless. I feel as if healthcare
and prayer go hand in hand as well just because health issues are when people are the most
vulnerable and they tend to pray or reach out to God about it. I believe that prayer gives people
hope.
Returning to this week’s discussion question, it asks if we should use prayer,
prescriptions, or pastoral care, or should we use all three? As said in the discussion, I think that
we should use all three. In the previous paragraphs, I stated that pastoral care and prayer go hand
in hand, along with prayer and healthcare going hand in hand. I think that a person should be
able to have the option to request a hospital chaplain whenever hearing a difficult diagnosis
along with the privacy for prayer. I personally think that prayer is a type of medication that a
patient needs when hearing a difficult diagnosis, I also think that pastoral care can help out with
this if thye do not know how to pray, I think that having this as an option is an important part of
holistic care. I believe that prayer, medication, and pastoral care can only go so far when it
comes to illness. I think medication may suffice and do not think that a person cannot solely rely
on pastoral care. An example of this is when a patient has a bacterial or viral infection and it
would be assumed that prescriptions are necessary to treat the infection in order to prevent it
from being spread to others. As long as the adjunct therapies do not contraindicate the plan of
care that is designated by the provider, there should be no limitations on what people believe
would benefit their overall health. I think that all three approaches are necessary for one’s
well-being.
Sometimes medication or prescriptions are not necessary in terms of feeling better. Many
times, people may just need rest, exercise, or meditation. I have a hard time dealing with patients
with depression being given a medication to make them feel better and when it comes to this, I
think that they are missing something in their lives, and may not be balanced. Medication and
prescriptions may not always be necessary just like prayer in terms of illness may not always be
necessary. It could just be that the patient needs deep rest.Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is good
The next question in the discussion board is if we want socialized medicine. Though
many people may not think that we want socialized medicine, we need it. It would be greatly
helpful if everyone in the United States had access to doctors and prescriptions. There are people
who are gravely sick however can not cover the cost, nor have easy access to a physician or
treatment. There are also people who have healthcare however do not get sick nearly as much as
the other person. I think that the United States needs it however people do not want it due to the
cost and lack of efficiency that it would cause. Some classmates in the discussion board are
worried about the quality of physician care if medicine were to be socialized, with which I agree.
Professional healthcare providers would be in great demand. A student had a discussion post
staging that people are very unhappy with the socialistic platform, however, brought up a great
point that maybe God did not intend healthcare to be like this. Maybe we are destined to be
eating healthier all around, not eating as much red meat or poultry, nor drinking alcohol every
weekend. Maybe we were intended to live a plant-based diet, where fast food was not a thing,
however, it is what it is and now many people are in the hospital due to these environmental
factors. There are great viewpoints for either side of socializing healthcare, and in our economy,
medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
the biggest con of socialized medicine is money. Who would pay for it? The quality of healthcare
would lower while the prices go higher for everyone."Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?
Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?"There are some
people that have health insurance from their job, however, it could be taken away. My classmates
were split about this decision, some were saying that healthcare should not be socialized and
others were saying that it should. There are benefits for either side. I think that a person should
be able to talk about their health with a professional. However, either way, if medicine were to be
socialized, there would still be a money issue. One of my classmates brought up an interesting
theory that everyone would be able to be seen by doctors and the treatment would be mediocre
however there is a possibility that if physicians offered more reliability and quality patient care,
they would draw in a richer clientele. Another classmate had brought up the VA system and
healthcare. He states that the quality of care in the VA system is already worse, and to imagine
bringing this concept to the public. Everyone worries about their health and with either choice,
there are also going to be people who are unhappy. For example, the first discussion question
asks if prayer, prescription, or pastoral care is useful, I mentioned that there are some people that
do not believe in medicine nor take man-made prescriptions. There are people that do not like the
hospital because they think that it is a scam and it would not make sense for them to pay for
socialized medicine when they do not use it themselves.
In all, I believe that prayer, prescriptions, and pastoral care are very useful and necessary
when used in a balance with one another. I also think that socialized medicine is great in theory
and is what the people need however may not be what the people want.
