As surgeons, we train and hone our learning and skills throughout our career. We strive to do our best to meet the needs of our patients who put their lives in our hands. At different times, our roles are different – it could be trying to make an accurate diagnosis, coming up with a complex treatment plan, performing complex surgeries, teaching resident doctors, counselling our patients and their families, doing administrative and research work, and even bearing bad news. And with each passing year, we attempt to get better at each of these.
In the midst of all these, we sometimes undervalue or lose sight of the spiritual dimension of health, which is so important to the well-being of our patients.
I had the opportunity to co-author the book ‘When Spirit Meets Science’ along with an expert in the field of wellness – Reiki Master Haripriya Suraj – who also happens to be my better half. The book examines the relationship between the scientific and spiritual aspects of medicine and healing, and envisions the ways in which these two areas could be integrated.