Stressing a team approach that integrates the medical, psychological, and spiritual needs of a suffering patient, Drs. Daniel and Jane Hinshaw, both medical doctors and both Orthodox Christians, presented a seminar titled "Spiritual Issues in Suffering and Palliative Care" on our campus October 21st. The Hinshaws' seminar comprised part of the special "Pastoral Workshop," which is offered once per semester on our campus to students enrolled in the Master of Divinity program, and which is overseen by Dr. Albert C. Rossi, adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology at the seminary. Because of the Hinshaws' medical expertise and the broad interest in their topic, their seminar was offered free to the public, and more than 50 students and guests, mostly neighboring hospital chaplains, attended.
During the seminar the Hinshaws explored the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of pain and offered ways to relieve the symptoms that cause human suffering, sharing many case studies as examples. The Hinshaws particularly emphasized how clergy and hospital chaplains can participate in palliative care (pain relief), and how they can effectively dialogue with care providers.
Dr. Daniel B. Hinshaw is Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan Health System, in the Section of General Surgery based full time at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Hinshaw completed a fellowship in Palliative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in June of 2001, during a sabbatical. His clinical research interests are focused on care at the end-of-life and the use of complementary medicine in the relief of pain.
Dr. Jane (Carnahan) Hinshaw is a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Health System, and Staff Psychiatrist at the Mental Health Clinic at Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Medical Center. Her area of special interest involves psychiatric issues in palliative care.
Drs. Daniel and Jane Hinshaw have committed their lives to studying and offering palliative and hospice care not only in the United States, but also in Romania, Serbia, Uganda, and in Ethiopia. (Listen to their recent experience during a medical mission to Ethiopia here, on Orthodox Christian Network radio.)
Read the Hinshaws article, "A Christian Ending to Our Lives," in St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly, Volume 1, 2000. Order your Quarterly here.
