Doctor
Resources
for Those with Chronic
Illness and Pain
Being
a doctor is defiantly a calling and
for those who are a Christian physician
it can be challenging as you may find
Christian doctors in moral conflict
with a patient. There can be many
ethical dilemmas in nursing from the
Christian perspective.
We've
put together a list of resources,
articles, ministries and other materials
we think will be helpful for Christian
doctors when you are caring for chronically
ill patients. We'd love to hear your
suggestions, or even articles, to
add to this page, especially from
Christian doctors who live with a
chronic illness themselves.
I
woke
up feeling better than usual and I'm not
a morning person. I was driving to work
and pulled into the parking lot when everything
around me began spinning so fast I couldn't
see anything and didn't know where I was.
I held onto the steering wheel and the pinwheel
feeling lasted a few minutes. Finally it
settled enough so that I could see the horizon
and I pulled my car over. That was the last
time I drove."
Dr.
Carrie Carter had spent years studying to
become knowledgeable about medical conditions
and nutritional supplements. But in the
fall of 1999 she entered a new phase of
education: the life of a person with a chronic
illness. Diagnosed with Meniere's Disease,
a chronic, incurable inner ear disorder,
life changed dramatically.
She
brings us a unique perspective: That of
a doctor who has listened to patients who
looked fine but felt terrible. But also
a doctor who feels poorly herself, but is
told "Gosh, you look great! You must
be doing so well!"
"There's
something in me," shares Dr. Carter,
"that rises up and wants to say, 'but
I'm still sick! I really am!' I have a measure
of health that varies in quantity and once
I use it up, I'm done until it's replenished--however
long that takes. I want people to understand
that and yet it shouldn't matter what people
think. . . But it does. It's that in between
place that is very weird." >
read more
There
aren't that many chronically
ill people, right?
According
to theChronic
Care in American study nearly
1 in 2 people in the USA live
with chronic illness or long-term
pain.
As
a doctor, how can I help Rest
Ministries?
Thanks!
First, we'd love to send you
some Rest
Ministries brochettes ,
tracts
and copies of HopeKeepers
Magazines to have available
in your office. If you're able
to provide a donation to help
us with the costs, that's appreciated
but not required.
Secondly, if you are willing
to offer feedback, your opinion
or testimonial, quotes, etc.
let
us know. We are always needing
doctors who can give us honest
opinions about our resources
or can comment for an article.
How
much does a HopeKeepers group
cost?
Our
web site has a lot of free materials.
You a buy a HopeKeepers
Start Up Kit to completely
provide your HopeKeepers leader
with a tool chest of items to
prepare with and use in handling
not only those tough small group
personal questions, but the
difficult ones about "Why
am I not healed yet?" It
is $295 or
items can be purchased separately.
Why
do we need a HopeKeepers ministry?
HopeKeepers
groups can defiantly be in
a doctor's office or even
just the community.
Nearly
1 in 2 people have an illness;
96% of illnesses are invisible.
75% of marriages with illness
end in divorce;
Depression
is 15-20% higher for the
chronically ill than for
the average person;
Various
studies have reported that
physical illness or uncontrollable
physical pain are major
factors in up to 70% of
suicides; and more than
50% of these suicidal patients
were under 35 years of age.
However, the significance
of one's faith has shown
to lower one's risk of depressive
symptoms and aid one in
better handling a stressful
medical event. *
Sources
Illness
is not a condition of just
the elderly. Illness is extremely
difficult to live with. Those
who are Christians still feel
alone, misunderstood and hurt
by the reactions or lack of
acknowledge of those they
love, especially people in
the church body.
Who
should run our group?
Rest
Ministries only requirement
of HopeKeepers groups is that
someone reside in some form
of leadership that lives with
illness. We want to make sure
those who are ill can sill use
their gifts, as well as keep
the content authentic.
Where
do I start?
Discover
who may have this calling and
present HopeKeepers
to them. If someone is coming
to you with the idea, be open-minded,
listen, empathetic, and see
how God can use one's pain to
design their ministry. One doesn't
have to be healed in order to
serve the Lord.
Are
You Talking to Your Patients About Their Faith?
A
recent poll revealed that 63% believe it's good
for doctors to talk to patients about spiritual
faith--and nurses spend even MORE time with
the patient. Yet only 10% say a doctor has talked
to them about their spiritual faith as a factor
in physical health. USA Weekend Feb.
16-20, 1996
A
survey of more than 31,000 adults, released
in May 2004 by the National Center for Health
Statistics and NCCAM, found that 36 percent
had used complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM), when prayer was not included in the definition
of CAM; when prayer was included in the definition
of CAM, 62 percent had used CAM (all figures
refer to use in the preceding 12 months). Among
the respondents:
45
percent had used prayer for health reasons
43
percent had prayed for their own health
Almost
25 percent had had others pray for them
Almost
10 percent had participated in a prayer group
for their health
Prayer
was the therapy most commonly used among all
the CAM therapies included in the survey *Source
Resources
Doctors Should Have on Their Desks
On
Call: Daily Encouragement for Nurses
by Lois Rowe; This great devotional book was
recently reprinted and Rest Ministries editor,
Lisa Copen gave an endorsement.
Illness
Descriptions: 34 pages of illness descriptions,
what to expect when someone is diagnosed,
the professional organization that serves
those with that illness, etc.
Many of our
programs are "Sunroom
Enhanced" meaning you can find additional social network communities
in the Sunroom, as well as the regular program itself. For example there
is an email men's group and also men's groups in the Sunroom for additional
interaction.
I
woke
up feeling better than usual and I'm not
a morning person. I was driving to work
and pulled into the parking lot when everything
around me began spinning so fast I couldn't
see anything and didn't know where I was.
I held onto the steering wheel and the pinwheel
feeling lasted a few minutes. Finally it
settled enough so that I could see the horizon
and I pulled my car over. That was the last
time I drove."
Are
You Talking to Your Patients About Their Faith?
