Takeaway
Scientific knowledge paired with faith, grit, and perseverance will help us weather the pandemic.
Passion in the Medical Profession | May 19, 2020 | 1 min read
By Kimberly Turner, MD, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
Whoever thought an OB/GYN physician would be asked to work from home? I’m a hands-on physician. I believe in the power of a healing touch, whether it comes from a small contact or a big hug. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all healthcare professionals to practice from a distance when possible.
Despite the need for telemedicine right now, it will never be able to replace human touch. In OB/GYN, a surgical subspecialty fraught with emergency procedures and births, human touch is mandatory. Exposure to bodily fluids is inevitable. Yet human touch is one of the biggest ways to spread COVID-19. Most of the fear that currently pervades medicine is that portion of our job that relates to human interaction. In this era of social distancing, just going to the hospital provokes anxiety. With so much uncertainty about how to protect ourselves, our families, and our patients, where do we turn for hope and help?
In times like these, we can use faith to help us persevere. The members of the world’s faith communities account for 83% of the global population. The great majority of these fall under 12 religions—Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. If so many people of the world have faith, why don’t more use it? If more people of faith exercised their beliefs, it would positively impact community health and help people to live up to their full potential.
“When nothing else could help . . . love lifted me,” is a line from a well-known Baptist hymn. I encourage everyone to fall back on their faith while coping with the pandemic. Scientific knowledge paired with faith, grit, and perseverance will help us weather the pandemic.