Perspectives

Worldviews Matter in Medical Practice

Authors: Scott McAninch, MD

Abstract

Medical providers and patients may hold radically different opinions regarding various medical issues, which may result in subtle or overt conflict between individuals and in the public square. I suggest that one of the primary reasons why people arrive at such divergent opinions on the same issue is a difference in their worldviews. A worldview1 may be thought of as one’s mental framework, which is made up of a set of interconnected presuppositions about reality, that are held consciously or unconsciously, consistently or inconsistently, through which each person interprets information and the answers to the big questions of life. One’s worldview guides them in interpreting the meaning of information and informs us if it “makes sense,” is “reasonable,” and “seems right.”
Posted in: Medicine & Medical Specialties75

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