Notes on the case study by T. Borneman, O. Klein, J. Thomas, B. Ferrel “Spiritual Care for Jewish Patients Facing a Life Threatening Illness”

The article is a case study of a 65 year old lady diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer, who is Jewish by birth but who does not share the Jewish religious beliefs. We are shown some of the challenges that chaplains and physicians would need to face in working with Jewish patients. 

The quote below summarized the main idea of the article (case study):

“[This case] illustrates the great differences in belief among jews and demonstrates that clinicians and chaplains cannot make assumptions based on a patient’s self-identification as Jewish”(p.61).

We see that there is no one right way to deal with Jewish patients, just as there is not one particular way to deal with any group of people, as, still, even if they share a common faith, each individual practices the belief in his own way. So, the question is: Is cultural sensitivity the only possible solution for the problem of dealing with such diverse patients’ population?

In my opinion, there does not exist any one set of knowledge that would cover all the possible information even about only one religion. If we want to provide the best possible service in healthcare and social settings we must develop cultural sensitivity, or even humility – in order to be able to attend to the needs of each individual.