Vast Majority of Physicians Satisfied With Hospital Chaplain Services

Newswise — A national survey of physicians’ experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with a dim view of religion’s effects on patients, however, were less likely to be pleased.

The results of the survey – the largest, most representative survey of physicians’ attitudes about religion and spirituality conducted to date – are published in a research letter in the October 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. George Fitchett, PhD, a chaplain at Rush University Medical Center, is the study’s lead author.

“Religion and spirituality are important resources for coping with serious illnesses, but research indicates that patients’ needs in this regard often go unmet,” Fitchett said. “That’s why it is important to understand how physicians view chaplains. Doctors play a crucial role in ensuring that patients get access to this kind of care.”

The study was based on data from a random sample of physicians of all specialties selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile. The survey response rate was 63 percent.

Of the 1,102 physicians whose responses were included in the study, 89 percent had some experience with chaplains. Of these physicians, 90 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with chaplains’ services.

Those who were satisfied tended to be physicians who worked in teaching hospitals; practiced medical subspecialties, such as cardiology or oncology, or other specialties, such as emergency medicine or neurology; endorsed the notion that religion and spirituality can have a good effect on patients; and believed it was acceptable to pray with a patient whenever the physician sensed it would be appropriate.

Those physicians who believed that religion and spirituality had a negative impact on patients were more likely to be dissatisfied with chaplains’ services.

The survey also found that physicians in the Midwest were more likely to be satisfied with chaplains than physicians in the Northeast. The finding was unexplained because of limitations in the data collected.

Other researchers involved in the study were Kenneth Rasinski, PhD, from the University of Chicago; Wendy Cadge, PhD, from Brandeis University; and Dr. Farr Curlin, from the University of Chicago.

About Rush:Rush University Medical Center includes a 674-bed (staffed) hospital; the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center; and Rush University (Rush Medical College, College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College).

Rush is currently constructing a 14-floor, 806,000-square-foot hospital building at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Congress Parkway. The new hospital, scheduled to open in 2012, is the centerpiece of a $1-billion, 10-year campus redevelopment plan called the Rush Transformation, which also includes a new orthopedics building (to open in Fall 2009), a new parking garage and central power plant completed in June 2009, renovations of selected existing buildings and demolition of obsolete buildings. The new hospital is being designed and built to conserve energy and water, reduce waste and use sustainable building materials. Rush is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It will be the first full-service “green” hospital in Chicago.

Rush’s mission is to provide the best possible care for our patients. Educating tomorrow’s health care professional, researching new and more advanced treatment options, transforming our facilities and investing in new technologies—all are undertaken with the drive to improve patient care now, and for the future.