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Indiana University School of Medicine
MD Education Program

Religion and Spirituality in Medicine Scholarly Concentration

In the Religion and Spirituality Scholarly Concentration, medical students will be introduced to major spiritual traditions, spiritual concepts in health, and the ways they interact. These include religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and also non-religious spiritual traditions such as feminist spirituality, western humanism, and secularism. Spiritual concepts include personhood, belief, hope, meaning-making, compassion, cure/healing, and suffering. Course sessions will be led by a spiritually diverse faculty, with discussion of spiritual traditions preferentially led by leaders within those traditions.

Locations

All coursework is offered virtually. Scholarly project locations vary by project.

Curriculum and Timeline

Students completing the Religion and Spirituality concentration fulfill the same core curriculum as students in other concentrations. The didactic components provide a strong academic and experiential foundation in religion and spirituality that will be vital for completion of the core curriculum project and product.

Topic-Specific Courses

Survey of Spiritual Traditions and Concepts in Health

Survey of Spiritual Care Practice and the Research of Spirit

Religion and Spirituality in Medicine Journal Club

Core Curriculum

Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

This table shows that the first three topic specific courses should be completed during the summer between first and second year of med school. The fourth topic specific course should be taken during phase one in year two. The two remaining courses, project and product, are longitudinal. The project and product should begin as soon as the summer between first and second year of med school and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors. 

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Students work with faculty to complete a project in a relevant topic based on student interests. Students are welcome to come up with their own project idea. Potential project topics include, but are not limited to:

 

  • Interprofessional spiritual care in pediatric hematology/oncology
  • Various project ideas from interprofessional spiritual care work
  • Palliative care in Muslim contexts
  • Caring for Jewish patients and families
  • Spiritual resources for addressing resilience and burnout in medicine (projects may include a longitudinally developing an interfaith spirituality reader for resilience)
  • Intersections between Christian theology and the philosophy of medicine

Co-Directors

Students should reach out to co-directors with any questions about this concentration.
23413-Lion, Alex

Alex Lion, DO, MPH

Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics

Bio and Contact Information

43542-Raed, Mona

Mona A. Raed, MD

Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Bio and Contact Information

map shows the location of the religion and spirituality concentration in indianapolis

MD Student News

In their words: Scholarly Concentration Q&A with Religion and Spirituality co-directors
Alex Lion, DO, and Mona Raed, MD, share details on the new Religion and Spirituality Scholarly Concentration, in which medical students will be introduced to major spiritual traditions, spiritual concepts in health, and the ways they interact.

IU School of Medicine  |  Sep 08, 2020