Christina Puchalski, MD is a Professor of Medicine at George Washington School of Medicine and the founder of the George Washington School of Medicine Institute of Spirituality in Medicine. She works with the World Health Organization (WHO) to include spirituality as a key element of palliative care. She also works with a committee at the Vatican on spirituality and healthcare.
Dr. Puchalski stressed that the most essential element of healthcare is to bring love to our patients and it is our ethical duty to relieve suffering which includes physical, mental and spiritual suffering. During her talk, Dr. Puchalski explains how health care professionals can properly address the spiritual needs of the patient.