PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Peter de Schweinitz
TI  - Is There a Shaman in the House?
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2010.06.100064
DP  - 2010 Nov 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
PG  - 794--796
VI  - 23
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/23/6/794.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/23/6/794.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2010 Nov 01; 23
AB  - This nonfictional narrative recounts a story of shared decision making between a veteran neurosurgeon and the family of a comatose patient who had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. After reviewing the option of surgery within the context of informed consent, the family remains frozen in indecision. Leaving behind him the world of the rational, the neurosurgeon makes a statement that reconnects the family to their deepest values. The neurosurgeon is portrayed as a modern equivalent of a shaman. A call is made for consideration of the complex topic of spiritual engagement during patient care.