Sacred Training

Book excerpt: For observant Jewish medical students and residents, navigating the system of medical training while observing halakhah is a challenging task. Sacred Training includes essays addressing the complex interface of halakhah and medical training. Each essay introduces fundamental halakhic principles and then guides the reader through the application of those principles to the contemporary question. The essays in this volume, written largely by medical professionals, thoroughly illuminate each topic and provide greater clarity and insight. Topics include taking the Hippocratic Oath, the anatomy laboratory, praying early in the morning or after working the night shift, counseling patients on treatments that violate halakhah, caring for moribund or deceased patients, residency and Shabbat, and many more. This book will be of great value to medical trainees, serving as a resource that can be referenced again and again throughout the long process of training to become a physician, helping to transform these difficult years into a spiritually meaningful journey.