Medical Students' (Dis)comfort with Assessing Religious and Spiritual Needs in a Standardized Patient Encounter

Most patients want to discuss their religious and spiritual concerns, yet few physicians discuss it. First-year medical students (n=92) interviewed a standardized patient experiencing spiritual distress. There was a significant difference among the students' reasoning for their (dis)comfort and (mis)matching religion with their patient (X-2=21.0831, p<.05). Most students whose religion matched their patient felt comfortable because of having this in common with their patient. Most students whose religion did not match that of their patient ascribed their comfort to their religious belief to be open and accepting. Discomfort may stem from more individual factors than a (mis)match in religion, as most of the students reported feeling comfortable.