Religion and Spirituality as a Cultural Asset in Medical Students.

Abstract

We explored the ways that religion and spirituality (R/S) work as a cultural asset in the lives of medical students and how students anticipate using this asset as physicians. A group of sixteen religiously diverse medical students were interviewed, and data were analyzed using grounded theory. The results indicate that regardless of faith, students repurposed their R/S to help them cope with the stress of medical school, make clinical decisions, resolve inexplicable events, and practice patient-centered care. Medical educators should leverage this asset to help students understand how to practice in ways that are consistent with patient-centered care.