Tag: religion

Panna Patel, DO Panna Patel, DO (1 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Author

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center


Panna Patel is currently a second-year psychiatry resident at Texas Tech University Health Science Center. She graduated with a Doctor of Osteopathy from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Current medical interests include child and adolescent psychiatry, cultural influences in psychiatric conditions as well as the use of animal assisted therapy for various patient populations. She also has a special interest in therapy dog training and has successfully trained her rescue dog as a therapy dog for pediatric hospitals.




A Reflection on Autonomy and Suicide in the Face of Multicultural Religious Beliefs

Above all else, do no harm. This is a basic tenet of a physician’s oath, but this oath does not always align with the religious and cultural beliefs of each patient. In cases where beliefs of faith, salvation or religion play a major factor in a patient’s desire to commit suicide, it can be difficult to draw the line between the traditional ethical guidelines of patient autonomy and non-maleficence.

Witness

This elderly yet jolly gentleman answers our unending questions about his physical health, but it is his question to us that makes me pause. Do I have time for a poem? This busy clinic day, I stop reflecting on why his heart stopped beating and instead what motivates his heart to beat in the first place.   

Adrian Poniatowski, MD Adrian Poniatowski, MD (3 Posts)

Resident Physician Contributing Writer

University Hospital of Krakow, Poland


Adrian Poniatowski is native New Yorker and a physician poet. He studied history at Cornell University before going on to finish medical school in Poland at Jagiellonian University. He received an appointment to stay on at his alma mater as Lecturer in Pathophysiology, in addition to his duties as an intern physician at the University Hospital of Krakow, Poland. He draws inspiration from his Catholic faith and long walks spent meditating on the sublime beauty of daily life. His artistic motto is Ars neptis Dei, a paraphrase from the Divine Comedy proclaiming that “Art is the granddaughter of God.”