Religion and Military Medicine

[thedoctor8706]

I have been interested in medicine my entire life and have become increasingly curious about the military medical corps. I have read the numerous threads about pros and cons but one issue in my searches never seemed to be addressed. Maybe the reason is that it is more of a general military question, but it relates to medical service anyway.

I am a devout Seventh-day Adventist and I believe in keeping the Sabbath (this should be an obvious clue as to where I will attend med school!), but does commissioned officers training, active duty, or any service within the medical corps respect those beliefs? Should I avoid the military all together for a fear of conflicts in interest? I don't want a debate on religion here, I'm just exploring all aspects of this option.

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[a1qwerty55]

I am a devout Seventh-day Adventist and I believe in keeping the Sabbath (this should be an obvious clue as to where I will attend med school!), but does commissioned officers training, active duty, or any service within the medical corps respect those beliefs? Should I avoid the military all together for a fear of conflicts in interest? I don't want a debate on religion here, I'm just exploring all aspects of this option.

So you don't plan on working on Sundays correct? I have no personal experience with adventists - but I suspect they show up to work on Sundays in the Adventist health system correct? Ultimately, you have to show up when your patients need care, you would work for Uncle Sam who ultimately controls your schedule and (my opinion) shouldn't expect your colleagues to give up their Sundays. It's like me asking for every Christmas, Easter, Good Friday etc. off expecting someone else to pick up the work.

I've know several observant Jewish military docs who as far as I've seen, worked when need be while trying to balance sabbath restrictions.

I think God gets that delivery of health care is probably a valid reason for breaking Sabbath rules.

 

[J-Rad]

http://lomalindahealth.org/medical-center/media/pdfs/med-staff/mc-rr-revised.pdf
Third page, section A, #6. It would seem that the Adventist tradition allows for medical services on the Adventist Sabbath. Likewise having a Saturday Sabbath may be beneficial in being able to make trades with other residents who would like Sunday off for their own Sabbaths. Mutual back scratching goes a long way in medicine.

 

[thedoctor8706]

I actually was not as concerned with practicing medicine on Saturday (Jesus healed on the Sabbath!) as I was with classes, meetings, or mandatory events that might be held during COT or on different bases while in the military, but thanks for the insight!

 

[crazybrancato]

I am a devout Seventh-day Adventist and I believe in keeping the Sabbath

I don't mean to sound harsh, but--as with many things in military life--you've got to apply some common sense here. And in general, the military is very good about letting it's members engage in whatever religious practices they prefer, as long as such practices don't interfere with their duties as an officer/professional.

not sure what you mean by practicing sabbath, but if you mean that you absolutely have to have a day off during the week to worship . . . then no, don't join the military (or medicine for that matter). So you can never work a 7-day workweek??? What if you have to stand watch, what if one of your patients becomes gravely ill? You're gonna have someone else come in to tend him/her? you can try to do this, but you'll raise a lot of eyebrows and piss a lot of people off . . . and they'd be justified in their discontent.

So then what next? Should an islamic student/officer be allowed to erect a whole shrine, with full regalia, so he/she can pray 5 times a day. of course not.

Now, if you can be a little flexible . . . if you can flex your day of sabbath around your work schedule . . . if the islamic student can pray in the campus chapel or just quietly to him/herself, then that'll work out.

Bottom line is, your religious pracitices (and other aspects of your life) must mold around your military/professional duties . . . not the other way around. If you have a problem with that, don't join the military, and don't go into a profession that's so demanding of your time.

 

[backrow]

The military likes to say: "Country, Service, Self"

Religion would fall under the "self" part so it gets third billing when it comes to scheduling. As has been mentioned there are ways to make things work a little better like trading schedules and the such, but it won't always work out.

And yes, during COT and other military training exercises there wouldn't be a chance to "trade" schedules with anyone so you would be stuck working on those days which you would like to have for religious services.

I would be very hesitant to recommend the military to you with what you have said above.

 

[colbgw02]

Deployments. How will your beliefs mesh with a deployment? If you are unwilling or unable to deploy, then you should not join the military.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

I have been interested in medicine my entire life and have become increasingly curious about the military medical corps. I have read the numerous threads about pros and cons but one issue in my searches never seemed to be addressed. Maybe the reason is that it is more of a general military question, but it relates to medical service anyway.

I am a devout Seventh-day Adventist and I believe in keeping the Sabbath (this should be an obvious clue as to where I will attend med school!), but does commissioned officers training, active duty, or any service within the medical corps respect those beliefs? Should I avoid the military all together for a fear of conflicts in interest? I don't want a debate on religion here, I'm just exploring all aspects of this option.

You will not be allowed any special accommodation for your sabbath observances any more than any other service member would be for their observances on any other day of the week. You will be assigned duties on Saturdays, probably routinely as a house officer and occasionally as an attending. Your preferred day of observance is not going to be "sacrosanct" from the point of view of the military.

Many SDA church members do obviously practice within acceptable standards of their church (how else would Loma Linda even be able to exist were that not true) and many will not open offices on Saturdays unless it is for an emergency. As with other faiths, illness trumps many routine requirements for observance, both for the sick and their caregivers.

 

[tscottturner]

I am a devout Seventh-day Adventist and I believe in keeping the Sabbath (this should be an obvious clue as to where I will attend med school!)

Just out of curiosity, how does the med school and/or its associated hospital handle working on the Sabbath?

 

[thedoctor8706]

Just out of curiosity, how does the med school and/or its associated hospital handle working on the Sabbath?

I think I was a little misunderstood with my question. It was not a problem with working medicine on the Sabbath as I have no problem with practicing medicine on our Saturday Sabbath. Jesus healed on the sabbath too! In fact during my undergrad years, I volunteered in a local ER for several hours every Saturday afternoon. I believe (as does our faith) that life saving and emergency services are regularly conducted on the sabbath, but regular checkups or services such as dermatology are usually closed on Saturday. I was just concerned that while in the military I would not be able to have worship services, or maybe have to take tests and attend classes, or do extensive chores or other tasks that I usually try to complete before the Sabbath begins. Thanks for the responses!

 

[BrickHouseMD]

In my ODS class we had a Jewish Rabbi that was able to keep his Sabbath on weeks 2-6. They even let him convert one of the unused rooms into a prayer room. In fact, I think he had one of the 3-day observances while we were there. They also stocked a special Kosher diet for the 6 weeks he was there. Point is, if you are willing to bend a little and maybe does some extra work to make up, I'm sure there are ways to make things work.

 

[Jolie South]

At COT, there was a special room that could be used for prayer. I believe that it was set up by the chaplains and anyone could feel free to use it on breaks and such. I'm not religious myself, so I'm not really aware of what was in there. They definitely made a point to let us know about it though and that it was for people of any religion/denomination. I think they might have had religious books available as well.

As far as activities on Saturday, there may be some events that you will have to do as required by your flight (i.e. marching practice, PT, dining at the DFAC). You might even be able to work things like this out with your flight, so that they are scheduled on Sundays or evenings instead. My flight had quite a few Mormons and we wouldn't schedule stuff when they were going to be in church. Otherwise, you have time to yourself to study and do other flight tasks in the dorm.

 

[del Sol DOHC]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. From what I have read on this board, once you experience the horrors of Air Force medicine, you will quickly realize that there is no god.

Seriously though, when I was active Air Force, people with religious beliefs were allowed to leave and attend services on whatever day they happened to be observed (Fri, Sat, Sun), even in the middle of deployment exercises. However, no one was simply allowed an entire day off for the Sabbath.

 

[deuist]

You are correct in that most clinics are closed on Saturdays. Be aware that there are lots of non-life-saving consults that occur on Saturdays during residency, however. And yes, you will be allowed time off for services with the military, but you must come right back to march, PT, go to class, or whatever other tasks are required for the day.

 

[elderjack21]

I have never had a problem with worshiping or practicing my non-main-stream faith in the 9+ years I have been associated with the army. Even during training exercises, deployments to both wars, in basic training, etc they have always accommodated me. You just need to speak up and ask. The military has hundreds of chaplains of all faiths who make sure this happens. I don't know of any other employer that facilitates this as well as the military.

Some times you may have to work on your Sabbath. Some times you may not get to attend service due to some kind of conflict. But for the most part, I think you will be fine.

 

[backrow]

I have never had a problem with worshiping or practicing my non-main-stream faith in the 9+ years I have been associated with the army. Even during training exercises, deployments to both wars, in basic training, etc they have always accommodated me. You just need to speak up and ask. The military has hundreds of chaplains of all faiths who make sure this happens. I don't know of any other employer that facilitates this as well as the military.

Some times you may have to work on your Sabbath. Some times you may not get to attend service due to some kind of conflict. But for the most part, I think you will be fine.

Status: Medical Student

Just for a little clarification: was 9+ yrs you mention above as a medical provider or not medically related?