Good News magazine has begun a new series about how Christianity affects our jobs. The first article, from our own James Fraser, is about being a Christian in the medical field. You can read it below:
How James’s arrival in Stranraer was reported in the local paper in 2020
I work as a GP in Stranraer. GPs see patients who present with a wide array of health problems and most of the joys (and frustrations!) come from the wide variety of health problems that people attend their doctor about. Being a doctor is an immensely privileged position of trust: within moments of starting a consultation with a doctor (even if they have never met the doctor before), patients will candidly reveal deeply personal information about themselves, their relationships, their fears about the future or even worries about death. Being unwell (or fearing being unwell) is a time of particular vulnerability and it often exposes worries that would usually be masked by the trappings of “success”, as defined by the secular world. Many of the problems that people present to the doctor with are actually a form of spiritual (or existential) distress, either in part or in whole. Many people struggle with feeling “cheated” if they become unwell despite having taken steps to try and keep fit, eat well and avoid unhealthy behaviours. Many more struggle with trying to present an external image (even to those closest to them) of “having it all” in terms of material things, while they desperately struggle to find meaning in life.
Until relatively recently in history, the aims of medical science and Christian evangelism were seen as partners, whereas more recently, the medical world has tried to divorce itself from Christianity. This vigorous attempt to de-Christianise medicine has led to a yawning void in the “spiritual care” side of medicine. Modern medicine is increasingly good at answering the questions, “what”, “how” and “when” but doesn’t provide any answers to the biggest and most pertinent question that most unwell patients have: “Why?”. Being a Christian doctor allows me to frame that question in the context of an all-knowing, all-powerful God who does not perpetuate purposeless suffering on His people, but instead uses it to refine them and to make them realise their complete dependence on Him.
The secularisation of medicine has brought frustrating restrictions on the kinds of conversations that Christian doctors can have with people who are struggling with life in this way. We are largely prohibited from talking about God (at least in specific terms) unless this topic of conversation is initiated by the patient. However, some of the best interactions I have ever had with patients have been witnessing the peace of someone who has their faith in Christ, especially towards the end of life.
Being a Christian doctor enables me to view all of the suffering I witness in the light of a God who has foreordained every illness that will befall us. It is freeing as I know that despite all the wonderful medications and treatments at my disposal, it is only by God’s mercy and will that any of them will have an effect - my patients will not be cured by me, but by God in his mercy, if it is His Will.