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In York, we've met fortnightly for fellowship, lunch, prayer and discussion - including ethics, psychiatry, assisted dying and homelessness. Clinical students have also met for Bible study. We have enjoyed dinner with our medical school secretaries, Mark and Rachael Pickering. We've been able to serve our student colleagues by providing...
We are taught as medical students to be holistic in our management approach, considering a patient's physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. However, step into the hectic buzz of a ward... bleeps, patient alarms, drips going off, a patient's relative asking questions, another patient being taken away for physiotherapy, for...
Everyone would recognise Michelangelo's painting of a naked man (Adam) lounging on the ground, pointing towards a figure sitting in the sky (God) who points back to the man. The painting can be found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City and is called 'Creation of...
A journalist named Walter Winchell once said that 'too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it'. (1) What do you expect from democracy? Moreover, what do you feel democracy owes you? Now I stand guilty on this front, along I...
Each time I am asked about my future plans in life, a miniature social experiment begins, in which I assess the person's response to the word 'missionary'. This series of experiments has now been running for some time - I have wanted to be a missionary since my mid-teenage years...
Love it or hate it, an understanding of ethics is essential to practising effective and consistent medicine. Wherever you turn, there are decisions to be made. How should you respond to this patient's request for contraception, or an abortion? How do you respond to a son's request to withhold information...
On 24 May 2010, Marie Stopes International (MSI), a group known for providing abortion services, ran the first 'abortion ad' in the UK on Channel 4. In the UK, MSI accounts for about one third of all abortions performed. (1) While the advert itself does not explicitly mention or promote...
Marcion The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. (Dawkins, The God Delusion) (1) One of the...
The Gospels: one story, many dimensions. The four gospels form a unique style of literature. Not just biography or history, not just a collection of Jesus' teachings. Instead, they're both narrative (about Jesus) and teaching (sayings of Jesus): Jesus' words are presented as an integral part of the account...
In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul tells us that 'all scripture is God-breathed', emphasising the importance of biblical understanding and application. With the rise of the internet, the Bible is more accessible than ever, and websites are becoming increasingly versatile and sensitive to Christian needs. biblegateway.com freely offers an extensive range...
A short web address that is easy to remember is a good start! Theologynetwork.org has always been easy to access during free time when online. I expected theology to be a dull and deep study of serious matters, with text heavy presentation. But amongst the few theology websites I have...
For many medical students, this summer brings the end of years of training. Yet it also marks a beginning. Just as recent football events might eventually herald a new age of English sporting greatness (at least once a few changes are made!), the end of medical training also heralds the...
coalition government Like many other media, our April news review did not consider the possibility of a Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition when looking at health policy. Here we present a short guide to what the new government is planning. The general election held on May 6 produced...
