Lessons for the Health-care Practitioner from Buddhism.

Sanjay Kalra; Gagan Priya; Emmy Grewal; Than Than Aye; B K Waraich; Tint Swelatt; Touch Khun; Menh Phanvarine; Sun Sutta; Uditha Kaush; Sundeep Ruder; Bharti Kalra

doi:10.4103/ijem.ijem_286_17

Lessons for the Health-care Practitioner from Buddhism.

Sanjay Kalra, Gagan Priya, Emmy Grewal, Than Than Aye, B K Waraich, Tint Swelatt, Touch Khun, Menh Phanvarine, Sun Sutta, Uditha Kaush, Sundeep Ruder, Bharti Kalra

Indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism 2018 DOI: 10.4103/ijem.ijem_286_17 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Intervention	Mindfulness meditation
Topics	Buddhism
Keywords	Equanimity Health-care practitioner Holistic care Loving kindness Medical ethics Mindfulness meditation Mindfulness-based stress reduction Physician burnout Physician's vows Self-compassion
Citations	41
Key points	Argues that Buddhist philosophy offers insights for holistic healthcare, including moral guidelines that correspond to medical ethics and mindfulness meditation to address physician burnout.

Abstract

From its earliest days, Buddhism has been closely intertwined with the practice of medicine, both being concerned in their own way in the alleviation and prevention of human suffering. However, while the connection between Buddhism and healthcare has long been noted, there is scarce literature on how Buddhist philosophy can guide health-care practitioners in their professional as well as personal lives. In the sutras, we find analogies that describe the Buddha as a doctor, knowledge of Dharma as the treatment, and all lay people as patients. The occurrence of disease is closely related to one's mental, physical and spiritual health, society, culture, and environment. It is not enough to approach medicine in a manner that simply eradicates symptoms; the psychosocial aspects of disease and its mind based causes and remedies must be a primary consideration. Holistic care involves harmonization of all these elements, and the Buddhist philosophy offers great insight for the physician. The Buddhist medical literature lays out moral guidelines and ethics for a health-care practitioner and this has corollaries in the principles of medical ethics: nonmaleficence, benevolence, justice, and autonomy. There is emphasis on loving-kindness, compassion, empathy, and equanimity as key attributes of an ideal physician. The practice of medicine is a stressful profession with physician burnout an often neglected problem. Mindfulness meditation, as developed in Buddhism, can help health-care professionals cope up with the stress and develop the essential attributes to improve patient care and self-care. This article outlines the spiritual and ethical values which underlie Buddhist concern for the sick and gives an overview of lessons which health-care practitioners can imbibe from Buddhism.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design
Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology.	2006	Theoretical or philosophical paper
Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience	1995	Theoretical or philosophical paper
Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being	2005	Theoretical or philosophical paper
Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World	2017	Theoretical or philosophical paper
From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory	2016	Theoretical or philosophical paper

Citations in the library

Cited by 4

Cites 9

and 4 more in the library