TY - JOUR
T1 - Systematic review of medical education on spirituality
AU - Wenham, John
AU - Best, Megan
AU - Kissane, David W.
N1 - Funding Information:
Professor David Lyle (DL) and Dr Giti Haddadan (GH) (Broken Hill Department of Rural Health, Sydney Medical School, Broken Hill) are the two independent researchers who screened the titles and the abstracts with the main author.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Royal Australasian College of Physicians
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Background: Spirituality is a fundamental dimension of our human nature that impacts on medical care and yet is relatively neglected by medical education courses in Australia. Aim: This systematic review was conducted to assess the curriculum content currently used to develop medical student understanding of, and engagement with, spirituality in the context of patient care. Methods: Studies published in English from 2010 to the review date were included in order to focus on the most recent curricula. Studies included medical students in undergraduate or postgraduate programmes, doctors in resident training programmes and registrars. Interventions considered for inclusion were curriculum modules on communication skills in spirituality, spiritual needs assessments and holistic care planning. Six databases, including PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, Medline and CINAHL, were searched electronically using the following keywords and MeSH search terms: ‘medical students’, ‘doctor‘, ‘physician’, ‘spirituality’, ‘spiritual care’, ‘religion’, ‘education’, ‘history taking’ and ‘communication skills training’ from 2010 to 2020. Results: For 342 articles, three researchers screened the titles and abstracts; disagreements were resolved by discussion. Full-text articles were assessed for eligibility based on study and report characteristics; 17 papers were included in the analysis. Curriculum content of each study was reviewed. The following key features were employed frequently: chaplain shadowing, communications skills training, self-reflection, examining evidence and relationship building. Conclusion: This review has determined the core content, aims and objectives to guide construction of spirituality curricula in Australian medical education.
AB - Background: Spirituality is a fundamental dimension of our human nature that impacts on medical care and yet is relatively neglected by medical education courses in Australia. Aim: This systematic review was conducted to assess the curriculum content currently used to develop medical student understanding of, and engagement with, spirituality in the context of patient care. Methods: Studies published in English from 2010 to the review date were included in order to focus on the most recent curricula. Studies included medical students in undergraduate or postgraduate programmes, doctors in resident training programmes and registrars. Interventions considered for inclusion were curriculum modules on communication skills in spirituality, spiritual needs assessments and holistic care planning. Six databases, including PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, Embase, Medline and CINAHL, were searched electronically using the following keywords and MeSH search terms: ‘medical students’, ‘doctor‘, ‘physician’, ‘spirituality’, ‘spiritual care’, ‘religion’, ‘education’, ‘history taking’ and ‘communication skills training’ from 2010 to 2020. Results: For 342 articles, three researchers screened the titles and abstracts; disagreements were resolved by discussion. Full-text articles were assessed for eligibility based on study and report characteristics; 17 papers were included in the analysis. Curriculum content of each study was reviewed. The following key features were employed frequently: chaplain shadowing, communications skills training, self-reflection, examining evidence and relationship building. Conclusion: This review has determined the core content, aims and objectives to guide construction of spirituality curricula in Australian medical education.
KW - communication skills training
KW - spiritual care
KW - spiritual history taking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119209541&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/imj.15421
DO - 10.1111/imj.15421
M3 - Review Article
C2 - 34142417
AN - SCOPUS:85119209541
SN - 1444-0903
VL - 51
SP - 1781
EP - 1790
JO - Internal Medicine Journal
JF - Internal Medicine Journal
IS - 11
ER -