Should physicians pray with their patients? A recent article on Medscape posed this question to healthcare professionals. The responses ranged from the spiritual to the practical and the satirical.
Many wholeheartedly supported sharing a prayer with patients. A primary care physician was typical of this camp:
I pray with my patients all the time! I usually say "Ms Jones, do you believe in prayer?" If she says yes, then I'll pray with her. If they say no, I'll say, "No worries. Just thought I'd ask." Not once has a patient said no.
An emergency department physician was also eager to call on a higher power:
I...have asked patients if it was all right with them to give a prayer. Not once during this time have I been refused, and I feel that the patient, their family, and I benefit greatly from doing this. I cannot fathom for me not to ask the Almighty for His help when it is needed.
But colleagues pushed back, specifically against the idea of a doctor initiating the prayer. An infectious disease specialist posed a difficult question:
Do you think they would say something if they did object [to a physician praying]? We are in a position of authority, and patients have enough trouble telling us that they didn't understand our instructions
