Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • LATEST ARTICLES
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP Open
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Fellowships
    • Outreach
    • Research into Publication Science
    • Advertising
    • BJGP Life
    • Feedback
    • Alerts
    • Conference
    • eLetters
    • Audio abstracts
    • Past research calls
  • RESEARCH CALL: TELEHEALTH
  • RCGP
    • British Journal of General Practice
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers
    • RCGP e-Portfolio

User menu

  • Alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Advertisement
BJGP Open
  • RCGP
    • British Journal of General Practice
    • BJGP for RCGP members
    • RCGP eLearning
    • InnovAIT Journal
    • Jobs and careers
    • RCGP e-Portfolio
  • Subscriptions
  • Alerts
  • Log in
  • Follow bjgp on Twitter
  • Visit bjgp on Facebook
  • Blog
Advertisement
BJGP Open

Advanced Search

  • HOME
  • LATEST ARTICLES
  • ALL ISSUES
  • AUTHORS & REVIEWERS
  • RESOURCES
    • About BJGP Open
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Fellowships
    • Outreach
    • Research into Publication Science
    • Advertising
    • BJGP Life
    • Feedback
    • Alerts
    • Conference
    • eLetters
    • Audio abstracts
    • Past research calls
  • RESEARCH CALL: TELEHEALTH
Research

What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients: a qualitative study

Alistair Appleby, John Swinton and Philip Wilson
BJGP Open 2018; 2 (2): bjgpopen18X101469. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgpopen18X101469
Alistair Appleby
1 GP, Aviemore Medical Practice, , UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: alistairappleby2@gmail.com
John Swinton
2 Chair of Divinity and Religious Studies, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, King's College, University of Aberdeen, , UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Philip Wilson
3 Director, Centre for Rural Health, University of Aberdeen, Centre for Health Science, , UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading
Submit a Response to This Article
Compose eLetter

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Statement of Competing Interests
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Vertical Tabs

Jump to comment:

  • What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients
    Nat MJ Wright
    Published on: 27 April 2018
  • Published on: (27 April 2018)
    What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients
    • Nat MJ Wright, clinical research director, Spectrum Community Interest Company

    I found this an interesting study in a very under-researched area. I did have concerns about the reports of doctors offering to pray with patients. At worst this is surely an abuse of trust — an imposition of one's own belief system upon a patient likely to be vulnerable on account of ill-health. Further, it introduces an 'intervention' which, by definition is metaphysical and therefore unable to be validated (or falsified) by the scientific method. Thus it cannot ever be called evidence based.

    At best praying with patients surely leads to an unhealthy blurring of the boundaries of the doctor–patient relationship. Doctors are mandated through the GMC Good Medical Practice guidance to avoid a 'close personal relationship' with their patients. Regardless of whether there is or isn't a deity, surely there are few actions that are more intimate than praying with patients. In my opinion such an act leads to an unhealthy blurring of the boundaries. In no way do I wish to denigrate the act of prayer — rather doctors who have such a need should find a role with their chosen faith group outside their practice area. Faith groups have a long, chequered and painful history of harm caused to vulnerable people when they (either consciously or unconsciously) assert superiority of their 'code of practice' above those mandated by society. If enlightened democracies saw fit hundreds of years ago to separate church and state...

    Show More

    I found this an interesting study in a very under-researched area. I did have concerns about the reports of doctors offering to pray with patients. At worst this is surely an abuse of trust — an imposition of one's own belief system upon a patient likely to be vulnerable on account of ill-health. Further, it introduces an 'intervention' which, by definition is metaphysical and therefore unable to be validated (or falsified) by the scientific method. Thus it cannot ever be called evidence based.

    At best praying with patients surely leads to an unhealthy blurring of the boundaries of the doctor–patient relationship. Doctors are mandated through the GMC Good Medical Practice guidance to avoid a 'close personal relationship' with their patients. Regardless of whether there is or isn't a deity, surely there are few actions that are more intimate than praying with patients. In my opinion such an act leads to an unhealthy blurring of the boundaries. In no way do I wish to denigrate the act of prayer — rather doctors who have such a need should find a role with their chosen faith group outside their practice area. Faith groups have a long, chequered and painful history of harm caused to vulnerable people when they (either consciously or unconsciously) assert superiority of their 'code of practice' above those mandated by society. If enlightened democracies saw fit hundreds of years ago to separate church and state to minimise risk to its citizens through abuse of 'spiritual' power then surely there needs to be a separation in the consulting room. To adopt any other position in a society underpinned by the values of secular pluralism is a dangerous slippery slope. Why? Because next week I'm going to see my GP with shoulder pain. I require an evidence based treatment — not faith healing, dowsing, tarot, or any other non-evidence based metaphysical intervention that would differ in different consulting rooms according to the attitudes and beliefs of the 'delivering' GP.

    Boundaries in life are important!

    Show Less
    Competing Interests: None declared.
Back to top
Previous ArticleNext Article

In this issue

BJGP Open
Vol. 2, Issue 2
July 2018
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Or,
sign in or create an account with your email address
Email Article

Thank you for recommending BJGP Open.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person to whom you are recommending the page knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients: a qualitative study
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from BJGP Open
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from BJGP Open.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients: a qualitative study
Alistair Appleby, John Swinton, Philip Wilson
BJGP Open 2018; 2 (2): bjgpopen18X101469. DOI: 10.3399/bjgpopen18X101469

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
What GPs mean by 'spirituality' and how they apply this concept with patients: a qualitative study
Alistair Appleby, John Swinton, Philip Wilson
BJGP Open 2018; 2 (2): bjgpopen18X101469. DOI: 10.3399/bjgpopen18X101469
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley

Jump to section

  • Top
  • Article
    • Abstract
    • How this fits in
    • Introduction
    • Method
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Notes
    • References
  • Info
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • primary care
  • general practice
  • spirituality

More in this TOC Section

  • Medical applicant general practice experience and career aspirations: a questionnaire study
  • Perspectives on expert generalist practice among japanese family doctor educators: A qualitative study
  • Tensions and opportunities in social prescribing. developing a framework to facilitate its implementation and evaluation in primary care: a realist review
Show more Research

Related Articles

Cited By...

Advertisement

@BJGPOpen's Likes on Twitter

 
 

British Journal of General Practice

NAVIGATE

  • Home
  • Latest articles
  • Authors & reviewers

RCGP

  • British Journal of General Practice
  • BJGP for RCGP members
  • RCGP eLearning
  • InnovAiT Journal
  • Jobs and careers
  • RCGP e-Portfolio

MY ACCOUNT

  • RCGP members' login
  • Terms and conditions

NEWS AND UPDATES

  • About BJGP Open
  • Alerts
  • RSS feeds
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

AUTHORS & REVIEWERS

  • Submit an article
  • Writing for BJGP Open: research
  • Writing for BJGP Open: practice & policy
  • BJGP Open editorial process & policies
  • BJGP Open ethical guidelines
  • Peer review for BJGP Open

CUSTOMER SERVICES

  • Advertising
  • Open access licence

CONTRIBUTE

  • BJGP Life
  • eLetters
  • Feedback

CONTACT US

BJGP Open Journal Office
RCGP
30 Euston Square
London NW1 2FB
Tel: +44 (0)20 3188 7679
Email: bjgpopen@rcgp.org.uk

BJGP Open is an editorially-independent publication of the Royal College of General Practitioners

© 2021 BJGP Open

Online ISSN: 2398-3795