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"Finding Meaning in Medicine - Reclaiming the Soul of Practice" by Robert M. Rufsvold, M.D. and Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. appeared in the May 2002 issue of San Francisco Medicine, the journal of the San Francisco Medical Society. Download the PDF.
"Recapturing The Soul of Medicine" by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., appeared in the January 2001 Western Journal of Medicine. Download the PDF. (953K)
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The San Francisco Bay Area FMM Experience - A Report. Read the report.
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Since the Fall of 2000, the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness (ISHI) has been assisting physicians nation-wide to develop self-directed, on-going, values and meaning discussion groups in their communities, independent of institutional support. Developed during a highly successful 2-year pilot program in the San Francisco Bay Area, Finding Meaning in Medicine has evolved into a very simple and replicable group process that enables physicians to uncover the deep meaning that lies below the daily routine of practice, and to find strength within a community of physicians who share their values.
FMM groups around the country meet once a month for a few hours around a chosen theme such as compassion, healing, awe, loss, integrity, suffering and covenant. Sharing stories from our lives, we begin a discussion that reminds us why we chose to become physicians in the first place and supports us in renewing our sense of calling.
Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, the founder and director of ISHI, has offered this reflection: "I see medicine as a spiritual path, a way of life characterized by compassion, harmlessness, altruism, service, awe and reverence for life. It has been my spiritual path for almost forty years. Over the years I have had several spiritual practices, but now I simply say that I practice medicine."
Thank you for your interest in Finding Meaning in Medicine. May your search for meaning in medicine enrich your life and that of your colleagues for years to come!
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