HDS - OMS - Field Education Handbook

Project: Originally inspired by the Pluralism Project developed by Diana L. Eck at Harvard University to study and document the growing religious diversity of the United States, the Boston Healing Landscape Project, located in the Departments of Family Medicine and Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, represents a complementary sister initiative to examine how, over the past thirty years, the medical landscape of the U.S. has changed in corresponding ways. This richly textured world of healing represents the new face of culturally and religiously grounded complementary and alternative medicine in America. It confronts the medical community with the challenge of shaping a positive response to the multiple approaches to healing being pursued by patients and their families. The projects being developed by the Boston Healing Landscape Project are designed to respond to the cultural and religious worldviews of a multicultural, religiously diverse patient population, and to help develop resources that will enable clinicians to understand these worldviews and experiences more deeply, in the interest of a justice-based medicine. This coming year's projects will focus on the collection of oral histories from elders in different religious and cultural communities, although other projects are also possible (see below).

Student Involvement: Students will, in ongoing consultation with the site supervisor, build a relationship with the elder to whom they are assigned, and learn to gather an oral history. Related activities may include attending worship services or religious sites and activities meaningful to the person, and reading background material that will help understand this persons life experience. Students will develop skills related to networking, alliance building, and interviewing. Alternative projects can include:

News-Media Watch: Media review for news related to religion, healing & medicine, providing concise summaries for posting on the BHLP website.

Mapping Project: Updating and expanding community mapping Development of Educational and Training Materials:

Curricular materials for medical students, residents, fellows and faculty related to BHLP resources and research: Working with BHLP staff to help develop materials

Developing materials for teaching cases with cross-cultural focus and issues related to religious pluralism

Supervision: Weekly supervision. A personal journal will be encouraged. Supervisor will encourage theological reflection related to working in religiously and culturally diverse contexts.

Notes: Terms of Placement: Fifteen hours per week. Days and hours are worked out in consultation with the supervisor. Transportation costs not included.

Harvard Divinity School

Ministry Studies

Field Education Handbook