Health Care Provider and Faith

Health Care and Faith
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As a health care provider, one meets different patients in any given day. Most of the patients have different religious backgrounds and this has to be taken into consideration when handling these patients and their families. Disease and health are part of the innate human experience, as such, almost all forms of religion at one time or the other appreciate this fact and integrate in their beliefs aspects of health and disease. For some of the religions, the aspect of using medical science is acceptable and the practices involved are okay with them provided they heal the patient. For other religions, their beliefs are quite strict and they tend to conflict with the medical practices. As a medical provider, it is important to understand different religious beliefs and try to work with patients and their families to resolve any friction between the medical practices and religious beliefs. This paper brings out some of the beliefs of some three religions namely; Sikh, Baha'i and Buddhism with respect to health and the treatment thereof with modern medical interventions.
There are many religions in the world and one of them is called the Sikh. The Sikh’s are known to seek spiritual intervention in time of sickness and at the same they believe in medical care. It is common for the Sikh’s to pray to their God for help in times of sickness, seeking peace and forgiveness. They do this by reciting and at time listening to Gurbani, which are sacred hymns that were uttered by God through the Sikh Gurus. The entire hymns which entail the word of their God are enshrined in the Holy Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib (Bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk, 2014). The hymns recital makes part of the meditation, which is also a healing component in this faith. This gives them the spiritual and physical nourishment during the treatment. Meditation is also believed to be the only way one can achieve salvation. There are also daily prayers which are recited anywhere before breakfast and after a shower. For the health practitioners, it is important to note that the five articles of faith are not to be removed unless with the authority from the patient or the family. These articles include the undergarment, wooden comb, uncut hair, steel wristlet and the symbol of their faith. When performing any form of medical care or nursing care, the practitioners should make sure they respect the sanctity of life, patient’s faith, alleviate pain and respect the patient’s anatomy. It is common for the Sikh women to prefer women nurses and ward mates especially where nudity may be involved. They also have a special diet that does not include, beef, Halal and Kosher. However, they partake of chicken, fish, pork and lamb. They also do not use toilet paper and clean their urine and defecation with water and thus a small container with water should be provided.
Compared to Christianity, there is a mild...