Flanagan, John J.

English

epublications@Marquette

The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 32 | Number 2 Article 4May 1965Objectives of Catholic Physicians and CatholicHospitalsJohn J. FlanaganFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationFlanagan, John J. (1965) "Objectives of Catholic Physicians and Catholic Hospitals," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 32 : No. 2 , Article 4.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol32/iss2/4EDITORIALS GREAT MEN BEFORE US - GREAT MEN IN OUR DST? He did not fear science - He created it. Miracles c edicine proved His Divinity, emphasized His parables and canonized H aints. Religion cannot read an EKG; yet, science cannot analyze pra understand a woman or solve the mystery of silence. Catholic medicine combines the science of Pasteur ,d the logic ol Aquinas with the charity of Martin dePorres; good medic is made better b� love of God and fellow man. Research strengthens l with love no assignment is impossible and each missior The Catholic Hospital Association and the Natio, Catholic Physicians' Guilds face expanding roles under zons. Defining the role of the Catholic Physicians' Guilr tolate is as difficult as calibrating dreams or measuring needs include: . 1 with science; accomplished. Federation of oadening hori-1 the lay apos- 1 urage. Urgent 1. A rapid channel of communication among laymer �ligious, clergy, medical and para-medical personnel. 2. An apostolic mission of excellence in education, r, ·arch and clin­ical medicine.3. Health formation and health preservation for 01 dedicated reli­gious personnel - providing stamina for their apos late and healthto match their dedication.. The Catholic physician sits in silence; hearing himsel seeing the cer­tamty of the eternal. Solitude is for the soul as man d· , alone. As he dreams in echelon , he asks himself, "What is my role? at have I done :or the Church? What price glory?" His happiness must )me f rom serv­ice to others and serving his God as a good and faithf I servant. His contentment springs from proven courage in adversity in his daily com· bat of man against environment for God. J:- N. THE PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICAL PRACTICE LINACRE, since its inception, has been devoted to the r ,-0motion of the Philosophy and Ethics of Medical Practice. In past issu� .... medico-moralproblems have been handled well. So well, in fact, that the various facets have been compiled into the dassi� book form by the late Ct'rald Kelly, S.J. The more recent refinements will be included in an edi tion, revised by Father John J. Lynch, S.J. In the past year, we have attempted to present more of the philosophy of the Catholic physician and his practice. This comes into sharp focus in the article� of this issue, many of which were presented at the New Orleans Meetmg on Medical Education and Research. Change is apparent in all fields of human endeavor. Aware and cur· rent wit� the ne:ver attitudes toward hospitals and the practice of medicine,the hospital famrly - trustees, administrators and staff_ will cooperate tooffer the best in patient care. W.J.E. 108 LINACRE QUARTERLY Objectives of Catholic Physicians and Catholic Hospitals JOHN J. FLANAGAN, S.J. The topic assigned to me for dis­Clmion during this Conference on Medical Education and Research has forced me to ponder carefully the role of religiously affiliated hospitals in the modern health field. I am compelled also to attempt to describe the obligations, opportunities and satisfactions of medical men and women who have deep religious be­liefs and convictions, and who bring to their work a spirit of dedication which manifests a healthy love of God and a deep concern with the welfare of their fellow citizens. Peo­ple with religious beliefs have always had a strong desire to help their fellowmen - not only to minister to their spiritual needs but to do everything possible to help them with their material wants and their physical ailments. Christ, Himself, set this pattern for us and the whole world of men who believe in God. Men and women have entered difficult fields of service because of religious motivation; they have gone places and done things when others 'Were not available or were unwilling -� Flanagan is Executive Director of · Catholic Hospital Association. The ��':'ein published was the keynote for ._�erence on Medical Education and -n:n held in New Orleans, La., No­��13-I� 1964. The Meeting sponsored '!ie National Federation of Catholic 6i r�L '. Guilds had the cooperation of '4Ul0hc Hospital Association. 11&1, 1965 to make the sacrifices. Missionary efforts, orphanages, homes for the aged and hospitals all are evidenceof the desire of God-loving and God­fearing people to serve people intheir total needs. Good and generous men and wom­en have been pioneers in our own country - they have gone where there was nothing - they have done their best with resources which were meager and frequently with training and education which could only reflect the times and the circum­stances. Dr. Tom Dooley could report to the world that he was practicing 19th Century medicine in Laos and could justify this because it was infjnitely better than nothing or better than the incantations of the. witch doctors. In pioneer days we could establish hospitals iri almost any community and know that we were filling a need because no one else was at­tempting to fill manifest needs of people. The horse and buggy doc­tor was heroic and glamorously re­sourceful and self-sacrificing, but he was limited by the level of knowl­edge and facilities available to him. We can well imitate his devotion and his adjustment to circumstances and environment. But today justdoing our best is not always enough. Practicing medicine of the 1940 or 1950 vintage is not enough. Hos-109 pitals cannot justify their existence or accept compensation for services which were good enough 10 or 20 years ago. As individuals and as institutions we are trustees to and for the Amer­ican people. It is a trusteeship which arises from the fact that the Ameri­can people have provided through taxation, or gifts or fees or room charges, the richest medical and. sci­entific resources ever generated by a nation. They can rightfully demand and we are morally obligated to de­liver to them a quality of service which reflects our medical and scien­tific resources and reasonably meets modern standards of care. In a real religious sense we are trustees for God Who has blessed us with tal­ents and skills and Who has so richly blessed this nation with re­sources and prosperity and educa­tional opportunities. Searching questions are being asked today. For example, why are there Catholic hospitals? Is there a need for Catholic hospit'lls? Is there a place and a need for a special or­ganization for Catholic physicians? Some Catholic physicians have chal­lenged the propriety of this meeting on the grounds that the Federation should not concern itself with edu­cation and research. We know that many Catholic physicians practice in public hospi­tals and in hospitals of other faiths. We know that many Catholic pa­tients are cared for by physicians of other faiths and in hospitals which are not Catholic. We know also that in non-Catholic hospitals Cath-110 olic priests are Y provide the minil" ual care for Cath� omed and can essential spirit· patients. What then is tJ objective which we Catholics oug to be working 1 towards in our C Jlic professional lives? These are easy questions and there are no : pie comprehen· sive answers. Bu'· ·- live in a plu­ralistic society, ,,: J.re a relatively minor group witl mited resources and we must thi realistically as to how we can be leploy ourselves and utilize our re ·rces in order to make the greate' contribution to the people of this )Untry. I do not beliew ·1e solution is in spreading ourselv thin in a vain attempt to reach ti people. Th� philosophy has r f ted in too many mediocre institutir , and too much inferior service to ople. Much less can we justify con etition or dupli· cation of servicec 1mong Catholic hospitals - neith• · does it justify unnecessary duplir rion with hospi· tals which are prG stant, Jewish or public. As Cathoi ·s we must con· tinue to attempt , , serve where we are needed, but . c must also be conscious of our n :ra l responsibility ' to attempt to ser. c only when we are sure we are fu I. i ing the demands of justice as far ,. , quality is con· cerned. Religion a,1d religiously al· filiated institutions must not become the refuge for inc0mpetents .or the haven for mediocrity and cornpro·mise with excellence. And now I cannot escape the question which is of primary co�­cern to this assemblage and is eLIN ACRE QUARTERLY basic reason for undertaking this meeting. What is the role of Catho­lic physicians and Catholic hospitals in education and research? In my opinion, it is not to estab­lish more internship programs. We are now filling only 30-32% of the internships approved. It is not nec­essarily even to fill the ones now approved in about 213 Catholic hos­pitals. It most certainly is not to provide needed assistance in covering the emergency room, doing physi­cals and writing histories. I believe our objective should be to concen -trate on a smaller number of insti­tutions and make them outstanding. If each of our larger sisterhoods would concentrate on one hospital and develop it educationally and as far as possible in reasearch, we might begin to fulfill our objectives in education and research. I further believe that we in all religious insti­tutions have an important special objective - it is to exemplify the advantages to be derived from a harmonious relationship between re­ligious ideals and excellence in education and research. There is concern today that "scientism" has become a separate cult - that it fos­ters the impersonal approach, the coldly statistical and test tube evalu­�tion of man as a being and a pa­�ent. There is a belief in many DBportant medical centers that re­ligion and religious beliefs unduly hamper scientific investigation and progress in the pursuit of knowl­�e. There is a feeling in the scien­tific world that the Catholic Church Mu, 1965 and Catholic hospitals are interested only in protecting a circumscribed approach to health care and in pro­selytizing. I think we can admit to some smugness, some indifference to leadership in progress. We Catho­lics have been too much concerned with pelvic morality and ethics deal­ing with the reproductive systems, and failing to emphasize moral ob­ligations for all professional acts and for professional excellence. We modern Catholics need to build a bridge between Catholicism and the modern world. It must be a bridge of mutual understanding and respect which will enable the scientific medica l  world to see our strengths, to see the values of a prac­tical Christian philosophy in the promotion of better patient care and as a positive influence in modern medicine. I suggest that in a limited num­ber of institutions we concentrate o.n exemplifying the positive patient care values to be derived from the lon g -delayed marriage between Christian virtues and medical excel­lence and scientific excellence. As Catholics and in Catholic institu­tions we have certain strengths: I. We have a religious motivationwhich impels us to serve our fellow­men and to serve them unselfishly. 2. We have dedicated physicians, nuns, nurses, technicians and admin­istrative staff. 3. We have an abiding belief in the dignity of the individual. Ill I believe that it is our mission to prove that these can be fused with scientific excellence and professional excellence to produce the type of care which the health field is hun­gry for. Our job is to develop this balanced program in a limited num­ber of Catholic centers which will serve as training centers and dem­onstration centers so that the world will tum to these institutions to see Christian medical care in its fullest spiritual and professional expression. If each of our large sisterhoods would make one of its hospitals out­standing in these respects, then we would have a leaven for the entire Catholic system. We cannot preach 112 to the world, we less we do so fror fessional strength. In the course c will see that some are doing this a; from them and tr Religiously aff. and religious men a role to play in , to reach into ever to do all the appe­bladders. But it the world the exct­the excellence of greater excellence when these are jr, service to mankinc 'mot teach un­'.lsi tions of pro· 1is meeting we t tholic hospitals 1 we can learn experience. ed institutions d women have rica. It is not amlet, it is not 'ctomies or gall o exemplify to nee of religion,ience and the o be achieveded in unselfish 1LINACRE QUARTERLY Major Problems of Catholic Hospitals in Medical Education CHARLES u. LETOURNEAU, M.D. A survey· of the educational and research programs of about 25 hos­pitals during the past five years reveals certain problems that are common to all hospitals in this area and some that occur more frequently in Catholic hospitals than in non­Catholic hospitals. Most Catholic hospitals are of the voluntary service-to-humanity type which were not primarily designed for teaching or research. Very few of such hospitals are affiliated with medical schools and in the affiliated institutions, the arrangement has left something to be desired on - both sides. Emphasis is placed on service, rather than teaching or research al­though the latter goals are receiving much more attention now than they ever did in the past. Service to hu­manity is in the best tradition of the Catholic Church and it is not surprising that our hospitals should follow such a tradition. Emphasis on service is further enhanced by the attitude of the medical staff of the h�pital which, in its advisorycapacrty to administration sets the tone for the policies to be followed. Where there is any conflict of objectives between service, teaching � research, the choice is made IDVariably to provide service, even --� �eau is President of The Letour-llital MAssoc1ates and Editorial Director, Hos-anagement. lilt,. 1965 at the expense of the other two ob­jectives. This is not surprising since the charter of the hospital usually provides that the aims and objects of the hospital corporation shall be to provide service to the people of the community. Almost universally, therefore, Catholic hospitals have developed as family-doctor types, for service to people of the community. In more recent times, medical spe­cialties have infiltrated into these hospitals, as might be expected, to keep up to date with medical dis­coveries and new medical techniques and procedures. It would be unfair to attempt to generalize about all Catholic hospi­tals or, for that matter, all voluntary ones. Some voluntary hospitals are outstanding in the types of medical service that they offer but, unfortu­nately, the majority of them are still dominated by general practitioners who feel a growing insecurity in the face of modem medical scientific services which they are not equipped to provide for their patients. There is a tendency, therefore, on the part of the less qualified doctors of med­icine to resist the growth and de­velopment of specialized services in their hospitals if these are not to be within the purview of their privileges. In many hospitals, the retarding view of the general practitioner has been communicated to the adminis-113 

Objectives of Catholic Physicians and Catholic Hospitals

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4187&amp;context=lnq

Objectives of Catholic Physicians and Catholic Hospitals

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

epublications@Marquette