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Notes the article by by Sarah M. Whitman “Pain and Suffering as Viewed by the Hindu Religion”
There are many interesting points made in this article, including the whole idea of acceptance and detachment from the outcome of whatever action. The idea of acceptance is central in Hindu religion as is the concept of Karma through which all the life’s misfortunes are viewed. At the same time, the author shows us with the example of several scientific studies, that acceptance-based strategies in dealing with chronic pain have proved to be more efficient than control-based strategies. Bringing these scientific facts to parallel the religion-based approach is very helpful for medical professionals, for whom it may be difficult to grasp this strategy only based on belief. Another interesting parallel…
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Notes on “Shattering Culture: American Medicine Responds to Cultural Diversity” by Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good (Editor) et al.
The world is changing, the people are moving, the demographics are being reshaped, especially in the US where there are so many immigrants. This book presents a collection of works that describe how are health-care institutions responding to this changing demographics, including issues within the institutional policies and the personal human dilemmas in serving the diverse and constantly changing group of patients. Although it is clear that cultural diversity often covaries with racial and ethnic classifications, we must remember that cultural diversity can exist within ethnic groups as well, and other dimensions of culture (such as those deriving from class background or education). Through various examples we are shown that…