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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 30 | Number 2 Article 6May 1963Further Health Care Development for NunsCatholic Physicians' GuildsFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guilds (1963) "Further Health Care Development for Nuns," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 30 : No. 2 , Article 6.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol30/iss2/6FURTHER .JJ.eafth Care ';J)evelopmenfFOR NUNS ..... The Committee on Medical Care of Clergy and of Religious of the National Federation of Catholic Phy­sicians' Guilds and the Catholic Hos­pital Association, prior to its prin­cipal investigation on the Cause of Death of all Nuns in the United States during the Calendar Year -1963, instituted a pilot project on Cholecystectomies Performed on Nuns during the Calendar Year 1961. Questionnaires were sent to the 825 member hospitals of the Catholic Hospital Association and to date 558have replied. The reported number of cholecystectomies performed on nuns during 1961 is 288. Choledoch-Under 20 20 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50 - 59 60 - 69 70 - 79 80 - 89Although 6010 of  these 288 nuns were over 50 years of age, only 2 died following surgery, representing a mortality rate of slightly more than 'h of 1 % . Their gallstones were characteristically less than 1 centi-84 ostomy accompanied cholecyst d­omy in 25 instances and ap, ·n­dectomy accompanied cholecy. ec­tomy in 25 instances. Liver b1 'lSY was done in 4 cases. Pathological indications for cl ile­cystectomy included: gangrc· ous cholecystitis, 3; acute cholecys itis, 21; chronic cholecystitis, 258. C: :)Je­cystitis with cholelithiasis was Mted in 245 of the patients (80%), and cholecystitis with choledocholitl iasis occurred in 12 patients ( 4%). The average age of these nu ,s at the time of surgery was 50 . cars with distribution according tc; age groups as follows: 3 5 35 71 71 73 23 7 meter in diameter and over 50 in number. Furthermore, no pancreati­tis, gallbladder malignancy nor cir­rhosis of the liver was noted at time of operation in the group of nuns covered by this survey. LmACRE QUARTERLY Current Literature: :litlej and __A.tjlracfj • • • Material appearing in this column is thought to be of particular interest to the Catholic physic­ian because of its moral, religious, or philo­sophic content. The medical literature consti­tutes the primary but not the sole source of such material. In general, abstracts are intend­ed to reflect the substance of the original arti­cle. Parenthetical editorial comment may fotlow the abstract if considered desirable. Books are reviewed rather than summarized. Contribu­tions and comments from readers are invited . Hoerr, 5. O.: Thoughts on what to tell the patient with cancer. Cleveland Clln. Quart, 30: 11-16 Jan. 1963. While no rigid norm can dictate whether every patient with cancer should receive full diagnostic and prognostic information, truthfulness is almost always preferable to de­ception. Relatives, and even the physician, often underestimate the ability of the patient to cope with the truth. Properly infonning the patient does not imply callousness or brutality. MIiier: A.: The patient's right to know the truth. The Canadian Nurse 58:25-29 January 1962. In general, the patient should be told the truth because he will sense it anyway. False optimism on the part of the doctor and family tends to isolate the patient emotionally and breeds distrust in hjm. The im­portant factor is how prudently and d1plom�tically the patient is pre­sented with the facts. -W.J.W. Tietze, C. and Potter, R. G., Jr.: Statistical evaluation of the rhythm method. Am. J, Obslel, & Gynec. 84:697 Sept. 1, 1962. The effectiveness of the rhythm method of contraception, correctly Prescribed and practiced, according to the formulas of Knaus and Ogino, is evaluated by means of a statistical model. Several assumptions are made as to the variability of men­strual cycles and the relative con­tributions of the follicular and Ju­teal phases to the variation in total cycle length. According to the LlNACRE QUARTERLY model, the formula of Ogino offers a 90 percent chance of avoiding pregnancy for 5 to 10 years. Its the­oretic effectiveness is roughly com­parable to that of the diaphragm or condom. Since the risk of concep­tion increases sharply as the num­ber of days of abstinence is reduced, the Knaus formula affords substan­tially less protection than the Ogino formula. -J.E.H. lesson, E.: Ambiguit9 sexuelle et liberte du choix. Ca#t;e,s loennec 22:47·58 June 1962. Concerning the morality of oper­ations to correct sexual ambiguity, two questions arise: (1) does the subject in all cases have the liberty to choose his sex, and (2) who is competent to make this choice. The morality of some kind of reparative operation is not in question. 1. Presuming, of course, suffi­cient age in the subject, he can choose either sex, but he should take into consideration his psychic condition and his upbringing as male or female, as well as his so­ma tic structure. He should also re­member that the majority of those who become female by such opera­tions can marry in the eyes of the Church, while this is not the case of those who choose to become male; these are usually considered impo­tent. 2. As to who is the competentjudge, in the case of children, it is the parents guided by the counsel of specialists. For a person who 1s himself capable of bearing the bur-85 

Further Health Care Development for Nuns

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