Episode 47 - The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope – Dr. Allan Hamilton, M.D.
Dr. Allan Hamilton's career is far from linear spanning from janitor, to Harvard-graduate neurosurgeon, author, motivational speaker, Grey's Anatomy script consultant, and Horse Whisperer. Without a doubt, he's one extraordinary man and yet he has an easy demeanor that elicits familiarity and relaxed conversation.
Dr. Hamilton admits to almost titling his book The Spiritual Journey of a Reluctant Surgeon, because...well, that's his truth. He comes from an esoteric hard-core science-based background. But, after witnessing how the healing power of hope trumps scientific evidence time and time again, Dr. Allan Hamilton stepped beyond denial and recognized the capability of the human soul.
In his book, The Scalpel and the Soul, Dr. Hamilton shares story after story of what he encountered in his medical career and through his own personal life experience ~ Things that cannot be explained scientifically. He shares his views on what faith means to him and his "Twenty Rules to Live By" in and outside of a hospital room.
Dr. Hamilton speaks of how to harness emotional and spiritual resources, so the soul gets as much intensive care as the physical, and in turn, enhances the body's healing process. He hopes The Scalpel and the Soul encourages physicians and scientists to address their patients' spiritual needs as well as their physical requirements. I think it should be required reading for graduation from medical school, but read it and decide for yourself.
From Dr. Allan Hamilton's Website:
The soul often needs more than an Intensive Care Unit can provide. The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope and faith not only become factors in how patients feel, but can change the outcomes as well. The stories with in this book validate the spiritual manifestations physicians see every day. The tales empower patients to voice their spiritual needs in medical situations. When the life is threatened, the soul can exert mysterious powers, embracing that knowledge can help anyone, patient or caregiver, to cope with such difficult and challenging times.
Endorsements:
"Allan Hamilton is a natural storyteller. His real-life experiences remind us that patients and surgeons can share in a spiritual transformation during the course of battling disease. He also reminds us that every patient presents a dramatic opportunity to see the miraculous, the inexplicable, and the inspirational at work."
Linda Klein R.N., Producer, Grey's Anatomy & Nip/Tuck
"A tragic error in medical education is that doctors are taught to think and not feel. The Scalpel & the Soul is a moving account of what can happen when a doctor opens his heart and his eyes to life's spiritual lessons and the mystery that thrives amidst the terror and trauma of life-threatening illness. This book will be appreciated by everyone who reads it because we are the same at both ends of the scalpel."
Bernie Siegel, MD author of Help Me To Heal and Prescriptions For Living
"Allan Hamilton has the whole-person perspective that I emphasize in integrative medicine. Like me he regards patients as not just physical bodies but also as metal/emotional beings and spiritual entities. In order to understand health and illness, doctors must examine and attend to those dimensions of human life as well as the physical, even when the physical body is obviously damaged or sick." Andrew Weil, MD author of 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Spontaneous Healing, Natural Health, Natural Medicine...and many more.
- To enter to win a free copy of The Scalpel and the Soul, visit Words To Mouth website for details.
- Thanks to Natalie Brown for her song You Gotta Believe from the Podsafe Music Network