CMDA Today - Member Only Article Archives – Christian Medical & Dental Associations® (CMDA)

Rationality, Conscience and Justice: The Foundations of Western Cultural Success

I was appalled this week by a good friend who often acts as a check on my wilder moments, but this time roles were reversed—except he was right. He sent me a report showing that most North Americans are ceasing to read even the Bible. Almost all of us, me included, have reduced concentration spans and blunted critical faculties. Even Nobel laureates have commented that modern awards are less likely to be for stunning insights than for applied technology.

Introducing Real Physicians, Real Faith

Real Physicians, Real Faith was co-edited by Benjamin Doolittle, MD, and David L. Larson, MD, who are both CAPS members. The book is compromised of the writings of selected Christian physicians, from various domains, who each shared a 2,000-word narrative of how their faith impacts their profession.

Dig In! A Daily Discipleship Devotional: A Challenge to Dig Deeper

If you used a depth finder during your daily Bible study, what kind of reading would you be receiving? Throughout my years as a pastor, I’ve observed that faithful followers of Jesus consistently demonstrate both breadth of obedience and depth of understanding—a clear indication of time spent with Him (Acts 4:13). As a master fisherman, Jesus Himself often emphasized the depth finder in His teachings.

Raising Up the Next Generation: A Call to Mentoring and Discipleship in Medicine

It was July 1994. I was a newly married third year medical student on my first rotation: cardiothoracic surgery. Nothing like diving in headfirst for your third year—you have the most energy in July, after all. Unfortunately, while you have energy, you lack both the temerity and the experience to stand up for yourself, even when all you need is a few minutes for a bathroom break. Well, to all the third year medical students out there, I say, “A bathroom break is a very reasonable request, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!”

One Good Kidney

It was July 1994. I was a newly married third year medical student on my first rotation: cardiothoracic surgery. Nothing like diving in headfirst for your third year—you have the most energy in July, after all. Unfortunately, while you have energy, you lack both the temerity and the experience to stand up for yourself, even when all you need is a few minutes for a bathroom break. Well, to all the third year medical students out there, I say, “A bathroom break is a very reasonable request, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!”

Rationality or Reasonableness as the Methodology of Ethical Medicine

Only recently has British academic and ethicist Oliver O’Donovan made me see how different these two concepts are, despite the same purpose of providing guidance for peaceful living. Behavioral norms are common to all societies, and once established they resist change very effectively for long periods of time.

Where There is Despair, Let Me Bring Hope: Assisted Suicide, the Moral Dissociation Curve and Compassionate Love

I suspect several of those reading this essay have had patients like the one described. How are we to care for this suffering person? Do we acquiesce to his request if we’re in a state where assisted suicide is legal? As a medical culture and a society, we are at a crossroads as to how we will care for the aging and infirm populations of our graying nation.

What’s Your CMDA Story?

When you become a CMDA Lifetime Member, you make a lifetime investment in bringing the hope and healing of Christ to the world plus make a lifetime commitment to the ministry of CMDA. It’s truly a lifeline for a lifetime. It also means no annual dues payments! Your one-time lifetime membership investment eliminates the need for annual dues payments for membership renewal.

Medicine in God’s Kingdom

Evangelical Christianity has never had difficulty understanding how a Christian healthcare professional might be able to speak a message of the truth and hope found in the salvation offered by Jesus in the context of a hurting patient or her family. Our theological framework makes it easy to understand why God would care about medicine that leads to evangelism.

Like Mother, Like Daughter: Passing the Torch

You ask how I came to choose medicine. I guess I’d have to say it chose me. That is, I was 12 years old when I first heard and responded to the good news of salvation through Jesus, and simultaneously, in some mysterious way, I knew I was supposed to be a doctor. I had never considered medicine before I became a Christian, and afterward I never considered anything else.

The Disappearance of Ethics

This article is an excerpt transcribed from an interview recorded for a CMDA Matters podcast episode released in September 2024 with CMDA CEO Mike Chupp, MD, FACS; CMDA Senior Vice President of Bioethics and Public Policy Jeff Barrows, DO, MA (Ethics); and Stephen Grcevich, MD. During the conversation, they discussed mental health and the church, as well as how mental health relates to gender and identity. To listen to the full episode, visit cmda.org/cmdamatters.

Mental Health and The Church

This article is an excerpt transcribed from an interview recorded for a CMDA Matters podcast episode released in September 2024 with CMDA CEO Mike Chupp, MD, FACS; CMDA Senior Vice President of Bioethics and Public Policy Jeff Barrows, DO, MA (Ethics); and Stephen Grcevich, MD. During the conversation, they discussed mental health and the church, as well as how mental health relates to gender and identity. To listen to the full episode, visit cmda.org/cmdamatters.

Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Identification & Treatment

Addiction has devastated the United States. As a healthcare professional, you’ve almost certainly seen its impact upon your patients and their families. As a community member, parent or friend, you’ve seen it in your town, on your streets and in your schools.

Preach, Teach and Heal: Medical Education as a Mission

Jesus gave His disciples instructions to include preaching, teaching and healing as key parts of their work and mission. Christian mission hospitals are excellent sources of providing witness and healing.

The Corporatization of Healthcare

Instead of opening my own practice, or even joining an existing physician-owned medical group, I took a job in a new practice owned by our local hospital, so I could be free of the administrative demands of running a business.

2024 Letter from the President – Staying in the Game

Sometimes I feel like Moses—content to play it safe and take care of a few sheep after experiencing significant ups and downs of life, yet the burning bush keeps calling me.

When Caring for The Unbelieving Terminally Ill Patient

Over my 20 years as a hospital medicine physician in one of the least churched areas in the country in San Francisco, I have cared for several patients who are terminally ill. Though such duty is never a happy one, spiritually I found it hardest to know how a Christian physician can best care for the terminally ill unbelievers.

Protecting the Vulnerable—No Matter What

On Tuesday, March 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. Food & Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. This was the first time CMDA was a named party in a U.S. Supreme Court case, a monumental and historic moment in CMDA’s ongoing advocacy work to protect the vulnerable and protect the conscience freedoms of our members—no matter what.

Ethics as a Condition of a Functional Society

There can be no ethics in a rigorous Darwinian world; instead, it comes down to a struggle with your neighbor to pass on your genes, rather than those of your neighbor, to the next generation. Therefore, there is no rational basis for patriotism, nor for noble acts of self-sacrifice, despite the desperate attempts of true believers to produce a theory of group altruism.

Grasping The Sword

My father played a major role in my own walk with Christ and spiritual growth during my formative years, even as I experienced medical school and residency training. He constantly encouraged me to incorporate the spiritual disciplines of scripture memory and meditation in my life.

A Simple Way to Memorize Scripture

You, dear reader, whether radiologist, pediatric nurse or orthodontist, have devoted a significant portion of your life to memorization. Even more so, you have proven yourself to be no mere show pony when it comes to fact retention and recall.

Sisterhood in Strength: Celebrating 30 Years of WPDC

In the early 1990s, Dr. Patti Francis saw a need for a more directed ministry to women physician and dentist members of CMDA. Dr. David Topazian, who was CMDA President at the time, agreed, and an ad hoc committee was formed. The initial interest was overwhelming.

Preparing our Students and Residents to Stand Strong

Plenty of clever people are beginning to say some sensible things, although the ruling elite are hardly listening at all. Most of the clever people who immediately recognized the significance of the fiasco at Harvard University involving Claudine Gay nevertheless analyzed it in terms of an ill-thought-out affirmative move in line with the currently dominant but rotting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs—which need to rewrite themselves as DIE programs and then be killed.

Why Do We Shy Away from Sin and Judgment?

Plenty of clever people are beginning to say some sensible things, although the ruling elite are hardly listening at all. Most of the clever people who immediately recognized the significance of the fiasco at Harvard University involving Claudine Gay nevertheless analyzed it in terms of an ill-thought-out affirmative move in line with the currently dominant but rotting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs—which need to rewrite themselves as DIE programs and then be killed.

Letter from the President: Developing a CMDA Community Chapter

I praise God for CMDA where I have developed great friends and wonderful mentors through the years. I have met strong people of faith who have challenged me to be more like Christ. I love these verses from Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Finishing Well: Preparing for Retirement

As a Christian healthcare professional, you have likely thought about retirement. It is either a distant dream, an approaching reality or a present experience. For some, it stirs positive thoughts and emotions, such as relief from the demands of work, opportunities to spend more time with family, the pursuit of long-deferred hobbies and travel to foreign lands. For others, it incites anxieties surrounding health concerns, a lack of financial resources and the uncertainties of “what’s next.”

Touching Hands, Connecting Hearts

March 2020. Like other events in history, I know most of us can remember where we were, how we felt, and what we were doing when the world shut down. For me, my life was full of anxiety.

I can’t be pregnant!

I saw the patient was young and figured her history wouldn’t be complicated. As I walked into the procedure room to introduce myself, little did I know just how complex this visit would become.

CMDA Today

A weekly blog keeping you updated on emerging topics relevant to today’s issues in healthcare written by CMDA’s staff and members. Perspectives and Opinions on Issues and News Topics is a publication of Christian Medical & Dental Associations®. Join the conversation with The Point, CMDA’s blog focusing on breaking news stories in bioethics and healthcare. CMDA’s experts contribute to the blog and also recommend additional resources and information.