Examination of Conscience for Physicians

Examination of Conscience for Physicians

This is a list of questions a physician or other medical professional can prayerfully ask themselves as they prepare for confession or for their own personal repentance and accountability.  Twenty-four of these were from Dr. Greg Burke, as presented at the 2016 Catholic Medical Association 85^th Annual Education Conference; I added the rest and organized them in a way that was meaningful for me.

~ In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art ~ 

Hippocrates

Personal 

1.      Do I do all things solely for the honor and glory of God?

2.      Do I pridefully believe that I am the savior or that I can do my work in my own strength? 

3.      Have I completely surrendered to His will for my life, including the vocation of medicine?

4.      Am I ashamed of my Catholic identity by failing to publicly defend Jesus Christ and His Church?

5.      Do I pray and read the Holy Scriptures daily? 

6.      Have I maintained modesty and chastity, both outside and within my medical practice? 

7.      Do I avoid scurrilous conversation, foul language or distasteful humor?

8.      Have I shown due respect for my own body through diet, exercise, sleep and ordered living, in order to offer a good example to my patients?

9.      Have I become addicted to or relied on illegal drugs, medications, alcohol, food, or media?

10.   Have I humbly sought help if others have expressed concern about my mental health or lifestyle? 

11.   Do I make a habit of complaining about my workload? 

12.   Have I been lazy with regard to good stewardship of the calling and gift of medicine? Conversely, have I neglected duties elsewhere, to God, family or friends, due to being consumed with work? 

14.   Have I allowed myself to become angry or bitter regarding work due to thwarted or selfish personal or professional desires?

Patient-oriented

15.   Do I pray for my patients daily?

16.   Do I take the time to be fully present with patients, encountering them as persons made in the image of God?

17.   Have I been neglectful in my responsibility to be available, within reason, to my patients when needed?

18.   Have I made myself available to those who seek my care indiscriminately, including patients with financial constraints, addictive or psychiatric disorders, those with infectious diseases, those with gender dysphoric conditions or unchaste practices, or any category of “challenging patient?” Have I attempted to make reasonable accommodations for the patient if unable to care for them personally?

19.   Have I been disrespectful of, or humiliated, others in my practice, including teachers, colleagues, staff or patients? Have I gossiped behind their backs? 

20.   Have I broken the seal of confidentiality by sharing personal details learned in the patient/physician relationship?

21.   Have I harmed a patient through negligence due to sloth or laziness, pride in my own abilities, failure to consult, or impairment due to drugs, alcohol, or lack of sleep? 

22.   Have I treated the suffering of others with contempt?

23.   Have I maintained purity and chastity towards patients and colleagues and sought to remove myself from situations of temptation?

Professional-oriented

24.   Do I truly give a good Christian witness to all I meet professionally?

25.   Have I sincerely made efforts to study the medical science and remain current with the literature in order to be competent in my field? 

26.   Have I been negligent in timeliness of communication, administrative or other responsibilities?

27.   Have I stolen from my employer or patients by engaging in personal activities during working hours, including social media, personal phone calls, or texting?

28.   Have I been dishonest in my charting, including lying about questions I had not asked, covering up important details, using “copy and paste” or "puffing up" the chart for billing purposes? 

29.   Have I lied during check-out to a colleague or attempted to conceal any personal mistakes?

30.   Have I engaged in questionable or immoral research activities or misconstrued data in my research?

Sanctity of Life

31.   Have I recommended or performed an abortion?  

32.   Have I recommended or prescribed artificial contraception or sterilization?  Have I prescribed any other medication or performed any surgery that mutilates normal sexual organs or reproductive physiology?

33.   Have I recommended illicit forms of fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination or surrogate motherhood?

34.   Have I participated in euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide or failed to recommend life-sustaining support to those who are not terminally ill?  Conversely, have I recommended continuation of care due to pride or personal gain when aware that doing so was futile and harmful?

35.   Have I failed to engage in meaningful conversations about the sanctity of life with patients or colleagues and publicly and politically due to laziness, embarrassment or fear? 

36.   Have I caused scandal – making evil appear good -- by cooperating with persons, procedures or organizations that fail to uphold the sanctity of life? 

37.   Have I failed to defend the orphan and unborn, the widow and single parent, the elderly and dependent, the mentally or physically disabled person, foreigner and immigrant, or any other vulnerable person in society?  Have I stood by passively when they were being harmed? 

Financial

38.   Am I willing to offer my services indiscriminately without consideration of prestige, financial or other personal gain?

39. Have I been fraudulent with billing or the filling of insurance claims?   

40. Have I allowed the inappropriate influence of pharmacies or business institutions to compromise my medical care?  Have I inappropriately acquired gifts or financial rewards in my medical practice? 

41.   Do I advocate for a more just society, including access to affordable and reasonable medical care, within my scope of influence?  Conversely, do I unnecessarily blame those working in companies or governments for societal or corporate evils that are outside of their control? 

42.   Have I squandered my income on unnecessary, self-gratifying or frivolous pursuits?  If so, have I attempted to justify the expense due to my "sacrifices" at work?

43.   Have I given generously of my income, recognizing that this is a gift that comes from God and for which I am a steward?