Religious Diversity: Practical Points for Health Care Providers

Primary Author: John Ehman, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania & Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

Printable tipsheet for health care providers to use when caring for patients from a number of different religious traditions. These are not comprehensive descriptions but rather practical items that may affect a patient, family, and care team during a hospitalization. Includes points for Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jehovah's Witness, Jewish, Muslim, and Pentecostal patients.

This is also available as a tri-fold brochure. Contact the author, Chaplain John Ehman at the Department of Pastoral Care in the University of Pennsylvania Health System: john.ehman@uphs.upenn.edu

Spiritual Assessment in Clinical Practice

Primary Author: Christina M Puchalski, George Washington University Medical Center

Spirituality, Religious Wisdom and the Care of the Patient

Primary Author: The Bioethics Institute of New York Medical College

Video from a 2004 interfaith conference that seeks to educate health care professionals about how different religious traditions view medicine and illness, and help them evaluate their own responses to the demands of caring for seriously ill patients.

A Time for Listening and Caring Spirituality and the Care of the Chronically Ill and Dying

Primary Author: Christina M. Puchalski, GWish: The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health

A thoughtful, informative, and practical guide for anyone involved in caring for the seriously and chronically ill or dying. This book covers how spiritual care can be integrated into traditional caregiving. Part one discusses aspects of spirituality, such as presence, ethics, and relationships. Part two delves into a number of specific religious and theological traditions. Part three offers practical applications and tools, including storytelling, psychotherapy, dance, music, and the arts. Part four focuses on patients' stories and reflections.