Should Medicine be atheist?
Offline I'm among the very few physicians who is atheist. If I revealed this fact to devout colleagues or patients, this could put my career as a Neurologist in jeopardy. And yet, the scientific basis of medicine (ie. biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, neurobiology, pathophysiology, etc..) are all reductionist and devoid of anything remotely supernatural. Most treatment decisions are based on evidence based literature albeit not perfect (ie. not every management decision is backed by the gold standard of a double blind placebo controlled trial). Yet most physicians are not atheist in the United States. If I see a patient who suffered a massive cardiac arrest and then in a coma due to severe anoxic brain injury, the cold reductionist reality that his/her mind is gone without any afterlife is very difficult for colleagues and patients' families to accept. For their comfort, I lie. I tell them that their loved one is in a "better place". The doctors, nurses, social workers and all allied health professionals are expected to agree with the priest involved in the patient's care that he/she is now in heaven. There is no secular way of helping families through the grieving process. In all medical school curriculum related to chronic illness, death and dying, dying with dignity, etc.. it is expected that the student will accept the spiritual dimensions of these areas. I am curious as to whether the practice of medicine in atheistic societies such as Sweden or Denmark mandate an acceptance of the supernatural.
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It's a shame, good thing I have made it quiet clear that I want to die, I don't want to be kept alive with a machine unless I recover, if not, let me die, if I am brain dead, again let the body die there is no need to keep a mass of muscle and organs living if there is no brain activity to make me "alive" otherwise I am a dead corpse using machines to mimic breathing and most other functions that the body can no longer do. However Rag, it's hard when a large majority of the population is religious as is in the US to be secular or atheistic in your statement of facts.
Most physicians aren't atheist because most people aren't atheist. I'm sure that percentage wise, the sciences, including medicine, would have a higher percentage of atheists or non-theists than others. Of course, my mother is a theist and a physician, so... Anyway, as long as they keep it out of their practice, what-tha-fuck-ever. There's a book, something like The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine or something, that you may find interesting. I tried to get the author on the show but it didn't work out. Meh. Watch House just so you can feel a little better.
Atheist Books
It's a sad state to be sure. There is no decent secular way of helping religious families yet in my mind there is also no way a doctor/nurse of any religious persuasion will be able to adequately help secular families. At this moment Ragdish, I am glad I'm not in your shoes. It is delicate enough to be a firefighter and have to deal with this from time to time. Wouldn't want it to be a daily situation.
I, too, just finished my last will and living will and I have a DNR with explicit instructions that should be easy to carry out should I be near death. I figured it best to relieve my religious brothers and sister of the responsibilities. Hopefully, they will respect my final wishes.
Only 35% of physicians describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or no religious affiliation. The majority are theistic to a certain degree.
http://pressesc.com/news/80931072007/atheist-doctors-more-likely-care-poor-religious-ones
Any doctor who brings up his religion (or lack of one) with a patient is likely to be struck off. Find it hard to believe many patients would care either way if the doctor knows what he/she is doing.
35%?!?! Wow! That's definitely against the religious trend of the average American.
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
Watcher beat me to the punch. By the number you gave, doctors are nearly twice as likely to be atheists as Joe Schmoe.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
You know, this is interesting: I have yet to meet a neurologist who wasn't an atheist (you make the third). I think it's something about being fairly well acquainted with how the brain actually works that kind of pulls the rug out from under a belief in the afterlife, etc.
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Well, if a dear relative of the mourners is completely dead, or braindead, you can honestly say he's on a better place. Death is better than to be hopelessly trapped within an immovable, paralyzed body. Also, if a person doesn't wake up from coma for a few years (and a brain damage reports no getting better, no neural cell regeneration) there's no chance a consciousness may ever appear in there. Even if it would, after 15 years for example, if a hypothetical spirit would return, it's better to discard that body and let the spirit reincarnate in a new, young and not braindamaged body.
There's an American Indian saying, when you realize, that you ride on a dead horse, get down.
This is the basis of so-called dying in dignity. Don't be afraid of what is after death, so many people already tried it and nobody ever complained
Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.