By: Omar Sacirbey
Science and faith may often clash, but a new survey suggests that most American doctors believe religion and spirituality can help patients.

Published Monday (Oct. 26) in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the survey found that 90 percent of physicians are satisfied with spiritual services provided by hospital chaplains to their patients.

While most doctors in the survey acknowledged that religion and spirituality help patients cope with illness, the study found that at least one-third of U.S. hospitals do not have chaplains, and many of those that do have chaplains don’t have enough to address all patient needs.

Consequently, doctors play a crucial role in ensuring that patients have access to chaplains, the study said. But most doctors have little training in connecting chaplains to patients, and instead rely on their own spiritual values and experiences.

About 5 percent of referrals connecting patients with chaplains come from physicians, while the rest come from nurses or patient family members, said Dr. George Fitchett, a chaplain at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and the study’s lead author.

“Things are changing a little,” said Dr. Fitchett. “There’s a lot of education to help physicians become better at making referrals, but it’s still not systematized.”

Fitchett said an ideal ratio of chaplains to patients is hard to pinpoint, and depends on what type of patients a hospital treats. For example, hospitals specializing in cancer patients or with emergency rooms have a greater need for chaplains than hospitals specializing in joint replacements or cosmetic surgery.

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