How the spiritual needs of an academic-based group of physicians and scientists inspired the founding of the Christian Academic Physicians and Scientists (CAPS), a specialty section of CMDA.
Read MoreA group of colleagues and myself met recently to discuss episode 16 of CMDA’s Faith Prescriptions video series at a Christian clinic in Yorktown, Virginia. Episode leader Dr. Farr Curlin states regarding the practice of medicine, “We should make use of it, it’s a gift of God, but don’t put our hope in it, as if it is the physician who saves.”
Read MoreWhen 2020 started, I had a plan. A plan to follow God’s leading to serve on a mission trip in Southeast Cambodia. Like everyone else, those plans were completely changed when the pandemic hit.
But God.
Read MoreAs members of the Commission on Human Trafficking of the Christian Medical Association, we are writing to protest the attempt to decriminalize commercial sex with the “Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019”. This attempt to decriminalize the degradation of mostly women and girls in commercial sex as well as the sex buyer is morally and ethically wrong.
Read MoreAs you know, several U.S. jurisdictions have passed legislation giving doctors immunity from civil and criminal liability for assisting the suicide of persons diagnosed with terminal disabilities. Tragically, in these jurisdictions and for this class of persons, and for them alone, suicides are now facilitated by physicians, usually with no psychological assessment or other medical treatment, typically with no consultation with family and loved ones, and in every case without the interventions and protections provided as a matter of course to all other suicidal persons.
Read MoreDespite the Authority of Scripture, there are those who are confused on this issue and from that confusion (combined with political correctness) there are professionals guiding individuals through the process of hormonal treatment (as normal) and very tragically, even surgical interventions.
Read MoreLetter to the Editor of CHEST (American College of Chest Physicians) opposing physician-assisted suicide in response to article by Attorney Kathryn Tucker’s article pushing physicians to help patients dye.
Read MoreAs representatives of over 30,000 physicians who practice according to the Hippocratic Oath, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), the American College of Pediatricians, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons decry the call to continue elective abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic made by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and others which falsely characterize elective abortion as essential healthcare.
Read MoreOne week into a rotation in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), I found myself dreaming about the hospital. I was not dreaming about saying the wrong thing on rounds, but I was dreaming about our patients: Mr. Brown’s wife when she’d been told he may not survive his third surgery this admission; Mr. Thomas’s mom crying because she felt responsible for how he’d “turned out.” I told an attending I trusted that I was distressed by how much I was carrying patients’ stories with me, and she graciously admitted to me she’d struggled with the same thing early on in training. The solution, she said, is to not get so attached. “That’s how you burn out,” she said.
Read MoreSometimes reality is far more awe-inspiring than anything even the most imaginative of writers could dream up. Decades ago, the idea that a woman could become pregnant with her adopted child seemed like science fiction. However, reproductive medicine has long since crossed biological boundaries in ways that once seemed impossible, creating complex problems that require morally sound, technology-driven solutions. Since 2003, the Knoxville, Tennessee-based National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC) has been the national leader for one such solution: embryo donation/embryo adoption (ED/EA). The NEDC specializes in honoring life in its very earliest stages and facilitating pregnancies for women who want to carry their adopted children. And these days, the ministry is busier than ever, adding new initiatives and team members to expand the quality and scope of its life-affirming work.
Read MoreAs Christians in healthcare, we are called to take our faith into the workplace, whether it be in a clinic, in a hospital or in academia. My journey in medicine led me from the clinic into academia. I actually consider myself an accidental academician who never meant to end up in charge of training a portion of the physician assistant workforce. This, however, is exactly why I am writing this story, to encourage my colleagues and help them understand who the sheep are, why they need feeding, how to feed them and when to stop feeding them.
Read MoreIn the closing months of 1989, a brutal civil war erupted in Liberia and soon engulfed the small West African country. At the time, T. Abraham Browne was in high school, and the senseless killings forced him and his siblings to flee for their lives to escape the bloodshed. They reached a refugee camp where Abraham would spend the next 10 years.
Read MoreI picked up the phone to return a call from a message I had received on my office voicemail earlier that day. The call was from a doctor. I called the doctor back and said, “Hello, this is Pastor Bert from CMDA returning your phone call, how can I help you?” After a pause, he responded, “Thank you for calling me back; I don’t know how much longer I can continue to practice in this environment.” As he continued to download the heavy burden he was carrying, I realized the doctor on the other end of the call was in distress. It was a 911 call for spiritual help. Unfortunately, that phone call is becoming all too common and frequent in my office.
Read MoreTry as we may, adversity is unavoidable. Often unexpected, hardship comes into our lives in a variety of forms and levels—a cancer diagnosis, a harsh public criticism, a mistake or accident with a detrimental outcome, an economic downturn or even a pandemic or natural disaster.
Read MoreAs a Christian who’s been practicing periodontics for 29 years, I’ve had numerous opportunities to share my faith and pray with my patients. A number of my patients have expressed their appreciation for having a fellow Christian responsible for their care.
Read MoreAs the trappings of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons emerge around us in North America, things look and feel quite different for our colleagues serving around the world. For cross-cultural missionaries serving far from home, this time of year is complicated.
Read MoreMy husband and I had just moved from Michigan to Texas for my first year of medical school at the University Health Science Center San Antonio. We walked up to the door of a house we had never visited, hand-in-hand wondering what the evening ahead would hold, with unfamiliar people, in this unfamiliar part of the country. As we arrived at the front door, we could hear the sounds of conversation mixed with laughter inside, along with the delicious aroma of cooking pizza tantalizing our taste buds. Another couple our age greeted us warmly while handing us an apron, sending us toward a buzzing kitchen to begin creating our “couple pizza” for the pizza bake-off contest! Wow! It was a Texas size welcome.
Read MoreAm I essential? As general dental professionals, we do not imagine many of you have asked yourselves this question. By choosing dentistry as a profession, it is safe to assume a certain level of job security and financial stability. Though both of those factors may have been initial lures into the field, what inspires us daily to practice dentistry is the impact we have in the lives of our patients, each created in the image of God. As dentists, all that we work to achieve is essential to the health and well-being of our respective communities. And yet, in the midst of the Coronavirus global pandemic, it feels like oral healthcare was deemed non-essential. States recommended dentists limit their offices to emergency patients only. No handpieces were running. No cavitrons were cleaning. Some dentists were even finding themselves unemployed! Oral healthcare seemed low on the priority list, and any momentum we had made in terms of advocating prevention felt lost.
Read MorePublic health and traditional medicine have a serious logical conflict. Public policy decisions must be made in utilitarian terms, unlike medicine, for populations and not individuals. Decisions are made according to which action saves the most lives. All public health policies are tradeoffs in the context of having incomplete data and finite resources. In contrast, patient-based medicine asks, “What is best for this patient?”
Read MoreI knew I’d broken it before I hit the ground. I heard it snap. Breathing hard on the concrete, between cries for help, my mind moaned, “not again!”.
Yes. Again.
9 years ago I broke the same ankle, my right one. It was early Christmas morning and I was sleepily walking down the stairs to get baby Tylenol for my teething son. One wrong step and down I went. This time it was December 23rd. I think next year my family may cocoon me in bubble wrap and prop me up in the corner until New Year’s.
As I write this, I am on Day 8 of a self-imposed quarantine for COVID-19. Dr. H and I managed to come down with it at almost the same time; so have several of our family members. No one seems to know just who gave it to whom, but at this point it doesn’t much matter. All of our happily vaccinated and boostered selves are doing better now, by God’s grace, and we are very thankful about it.
Read MoreMy middle daughter has a problem with trust. She often asks me, “Mom, are you going to take me to dance today?” or “Mom, are you going to pick me up from school?” She frets over small things like have I signed a permission slip yet, or have I made that orthodontist appointment yet. It is frustrating as a parent to feel like my precious girl doesn’t know that I am taking care of her, that I am here for her.
Read MoreThe dog groomer took some sort of hiatus. And while I don’t begrudge her time off, away or whatever she needed, we have three dogs in this house. Two fairly large, all fairly fluffy dogs. And furthermore, finding a good groomer in our area is like finding gold at the end of the rainbow. It eludes most and did us for a long time. Finding a replacement was impossible.
Read MoreI’m in my early 60s. This means I have about 50 years of clear memories of news events, politics, fads and fashions, stemming from the early 70s. I even remember when JFK died, although I was just a little girl; the reactions of the adults around me were so remarkable that I still remember exactly where I was. In all of that time I will tell you what I have learned: God is the only One we can trust to tell us the truth and the only One who can give us peace.
Read MoreOne day, a mole decided life underground wasn’t his thing. Ready for something new, he found a folded lawn chair in a driveway and thought, yes, this was his best next step. So he moved in.
Read MoreWe were doing a residency rotation in Florida when the triplets were four. One dreary overcast Saturday we were enjoying family time even though Wade was on call. We didn’t understand that in Florida rain can turn to sun in less than a minute. That day it did just that. And three four-year-olds began to wail. I couldn’t understand why the sun was making them cry. As I attempted to console them, I was asking why they were sobbing: “Daddy will have to go to work now.”
Read MoreI don’t drag out my MD for just any occasion. Typically, I keep it tucked away. But today I thought I would speak (indirectly) to residents, especially first-year residents or interns, so it seemed appropriate. Perhaps you ladies, who are reading this article, will pass along my remarks to the young physicians in your lives.
Read MoreBehind the smile I was shouting, “Oh goodness mercy of course!” I have been the new girl showing up at the team meeting, the book club, the Bible study far, far more often than I have been the one standing with friends. It can be excruciatingly hard. It can also be invigorating.
Read MoreMedical life takes grit. We wrap our minds around MCAT scores, acceptance letters, residency placements and job contracts, knowing it’s not easy. There’s risk in leaving a paying job and moving across the country. And it’s scary. Will you land on your feet? Will you live on this budget? Will you make friends? Regardless, we have hope. We see the endpoint, or the little milestones on the way—the white coat ceremony, the match and the job signing.
Read MoreI make a mean lasagna. Always have. It’s my mom’s recipe and it has never let me down. (Don’t worry. I’ll share it with you in a minute.) So, naturally, when I think of taking food over to someone’s house, I think of lasagna. It’s easy, portable, reheats well, and lasts for days. This is especially helpful if the person is sick, or in this case, recovering from surgery.
Read MoreThe Christmas season is upon us! I love the smells, the lights and the traditions. One tradition we have in our family is to not put any Christmas gifts under the tree until after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve. It is a tradition born out of practicality: we had curious toddlers in our house for more than 10 years. But even now, when our youngest is 11, we still keep all the gifts safely tucked away until late Christmas Eve. It is so much fun to see the surprise on their sleepy faces Christmas morning!
Read MoreIt is a foggy morning at my house and I just filled my fourth garbage bag following the departure of my Christmas guests (full disclosure: my mom is still here after airline troubles delayed her flight by a week!) I am not ready to un-decorate yet as we love to savor the Christmas lights for a bit as we enter the new year. The deep sigh of tidying up is truly palpable — getting things back in their place somewhat and organized so that the new year can begin.
Read MoreKicking and screaming…most of the time. Protesting in the loudest and most ridiculous ways imaginable. Much like a disobedient child, who is being drug from a store by a parent; misbehaving just because they didn’t get what they wanted. That’s me. Why? How do you follow Jesus?
Read MoreIt has been said that all the world is a stage, and the people are mere players. If that is true, then sometimes I feel like a supporting character in my own life. My husband’s career has been center-stage for so long, I can’t remember a time when our life didn’t somehow revolve around it. It determined where we lived, and how long. It determined when dinner was, and when we could go on vacation. It was the reason we moved away from home, and the reason we moved again, and again, and again. And I have been the one making sure all the endless “little things” got done along the way. I am pushing the plot of our lives along—but standing outside the spotlight.
Read MoreSome days when the deadline for writing my On the Side devotional is looming—or loomed last week and is now bearing down on me like a bullet train—and the words are stuck in my head, I scroll through old issues to see what topics we have covered as a team.
Read MoreWhen I sit among the women of our local Side By Side chapter, I sit among power. Wives of physicians, some physicians themselves, some experts in other fields, some nursing stay-at-home moms. A group diverse in age and background and current employment, but always powerful.
Read MoreMoving has the effect of making you take stock of what you’re carrying with you. It is important to know what baggage to keep and what to get rid of.
Read MoreGod knows everything He is planning to bring about in our future. He is the One who makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. We may look around us and see nothing of that promise, but He encourages us to look anyway and to see with the eyes of faith.
Read MoreI met my best friends from high school this summer in North Carolina. It was our third annual trip together—we have been to a couple of beaches, but this year we chose the mountains.
Read MoreGod knows everything He is planning to bring about in our future. He is the One who makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. We may look around us and see nothing of that promise, but He encourages us to look anyway and to see with the eyes of faith.
Read MoreAs I am writing this article, it has been just a few days since hostilities erupted in the Middle East. Every morning I have to get up and see what they are doing over there. It is unquestionable that any information I have today will be obsolete by the time you read this. I don’t know what else to say except, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you’” (Psalm 122:6, NASB).
Read MoreAugust 9-10, 2024
The two-day training is designed to teach participants how to use the media as an educational tool and to sharpen skills as CMDA media representatives. We will share a proven methodology that works in the most hostile situations. Real-life examples will illustrate this method, then we will work with each participant one-on-one as we practice in the radio and television studios.
We drove to Mississippi from Chicago while in medical school. We had three under two and knew we probably wouldn’t make it the entire way in one day but weren’t exactly sure how far we would make it. And so, we decided to drive until we had to stop. It was a great decision right up until the triplets were past exhausted and there was not one hotel room to be found. Not one.
Read MoreI finished school many years ago. My children are almost grown. My youngest is a senior in high school. There are no grandchildren on my horizon to date. Yet, I still put the new crayons in my shopping buggy at least once a year. There is just something wondrous about a brand-new box.
Read MoreSeveral years ago, there was a house down the street from us that had the most amazing landscaping! Ok, I’ll admit it, I experienced a little “flower envy” every time I walked by with the dogs. I may have even sneaked a pic or two to save for when spring came around again so I could plant similar flowers.
Read MoreWe can’t always hide from the huge cruelty of life. It’s always there, mixed in with the great wonder and joy of life—a brokenness seeping up up from the soil of our fallen world.
Read MoreWe all need advice, and from time to time we may even look for it. The question is, where should we seek it? The Internet? The Bible? Our pastor? A friend? A family member? Where can a Christian find godly advice?
Read MoreI hear Wade talk about his interviews for residency sometimes. I hear him describe flying to a centralized location in the Southeast and renting a car. I hear him describe traveling from program to program to hit as many schools with one flight as possible.
Read MoreMay 31-June 1, 2024
This 2-Day Intensive introduces a framework that utilizes a “coach approach” to mentoring, with an emphasis on a reflective process that nurtures well-being.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17, ESV).
Read MoreBristol, Tenn.—January 4, 2024—Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), which is the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today announced a pivotal victory from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that protects the conscience freedoms of healthcare professionals from being forced to perform abortions.
Read MoreFocus International Development (FID) has a Family Medicine Clinic and Clinical Training Center in Central Asia and is in the process of opening a second clinic.
Read MoreShare your faith in Christ while offering high quality, personalized care with an attention to alternative options. Extremely fast growing four provider practice needing one to two full-time MD or DO physicians. Southeast Texas suburban Port Neches, Texas is very homeschool friendly yet offers high quality public education options for your family. Plenty of water sports, fishing, hunting and close proximity to the third largest city in the U.S., Houston. Production based salary $275,000 to $500,000 with a sign on.
Read MoreWe are in need of an optometrist or an ophthalmologist who can join us on our CMDA Global Health Outreach mission trip to the Dominican Republic on August 3-11, 2024. This is an excellent trip for students of all backgrounds, including healthcare students, college students and even high school students. It is also a great family trip for spouses and young people, as there will be opportunities for children’s ministries.
Read MoreOasis is a not-for-profit Christian hospital located in Al Ain, about 160 kilometers east of the United Arab Emirates capital city, Abu Dhabi. We are part of the Cure International network of hospitals whose mission is to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God. Our hospital is the first private hospital established in the United Arab Emirates and also the first to attain JCIA accreditation.
Read More“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16, NIV).
He sat across from me and had time to chat while I was ordering some complex treatment for him, a part-time pastor with theology as good as a ThD professor. We were talking about how much the world needs Jesus.
Read MoreAs a former federal government employee, I have observed firsthand how policies affecting our everyday lives are often crafted and administered by unelected federal bureaucrats. Coupled with presidential executive orders, this gives the executive branch a remarkable amount of power. Within the executive branch exists the regulatory framework, which is overseen by a little-known office under the purview of the White House called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Proposed actions from this office are published in the “Unified Agenda” twice a year in the spring and fall, giving the public a glimpse into what future regulatory action is on the horizon. Most of us are unaware (some may say blissfully so) of the volume of regulatory and deregulatory actions under development and review in more than 60 federal departments, agencies and commissions across the government. To give some perspective, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) currently has more pending actions than any other cabinet level department, which underscores the sheer size and reach of this titan agency with a budget that surpasses the gross national product of several countries!
Read MorePublications exposing transgender ideology and its capture of academics, medicine, the entertainment industry, government and the business sector are picking up steam. What we might term the breakout books, those that caught traction and burst onto the public square addressing and countering the whirlwind of transgenderism.
Read MoreChristian Medical & Dental Associations® educates, encourages, and equips Christian healthcare professionals to glorify God. Christian healthcare professionals glorify God by following Christ, serving with excellence and compassion, caring for all people, and advancing Biblical principles of healthcare within the Church and throughout the world.
Read MorePosition & Public Policy Statements Ethics statements deal with ethical issues. They are drafted by the Ethics Committee of the Board and the final version has to be approved first by the Board of Trustees and then by the House of Representatives representing the CMDA membership. These statements can be based on biblical, scientific, moral and social principles. They are not binding on CMDA members…
Read MoreAre you interested in getting involved with CMDA? Or do you have a question about our ministry? We would love to hear from you! Our national offices are open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. We are here to help you and we look forward to hearing from you.
Read MoreIt has been over a year since the first diagnosis of COVID-19 in the United States. Due to this pandemic’s effects, our society has experienced limitations in personal freedoms to a level we have never known. Social interactions and work environments have been changed by social distancing, masks, hospital and nursing home visitation restrictions and working from home. Freedom of movement about our communities and the nation has been limited by “stay-at-home orders” and mass travel restrictions. The availability of vaccines provides a sliver of hope but also raises many questions. Issues our society must address include prioritizing equitable vaccine distribution and the potential for coercive mandates on vaccine use.
Read MoreI came to know Christ my first week in college at University of California, Davis (UC Davis). I wasn’t in a bad place or even seeking out spiritual fulfillment, but I was intrigued by my next-door dorm neighbor who was definitely high on something. It happened to be Jesus.
Read MoreI know some of it is realizing that the child we love has a new connection with the God who may someday become the Lord of his or her life.
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