Dr. Uday Jani to speak on connection between medicine and soul June 5

Dr. Uday Jani, a locally known and respected physician, will present "Body & Soul: the Connection Between Medicine and the Soul" at the Summer Spirituality Series starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 5, in the Parish Hall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 211 Mulberry St. in Lewes.

Jani, MD, FACP, will discuss how incorporating spirituality into integrative medicine can greatly increase a patient’s overall health and well-being, in addition to medical treatment and healing.

The technological advances of the past century tended to change the focus of medicine from a caring, service-oriented model to a technological, cure-oriented model.

Technology has led to phenomenal advances in medicine and has given people the ability to prolong life.

However, in the past few decades, physicians have attempted to balance their care by reclaiming medicine’s more spiritual roots, recognizing that until modern times, spirituality was often linked with healthcare. Spiritual or compassionate care involved serving the whole person - the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Integrative medicine emphasizes medical care of the whole person, which includes an understanding of a patient’s family and environment, as well as the social, cultural and psychological situation. Over the past several years, it has been suggested that spirituality is another important, yet often neglected, factor in the health of patients.

Spirituality is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many people, through belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism, and the arts. All of these factors can influence how patients and healthcare professionals perceive health and illness, and how they can integrate all aspects of technological and modern medicine into daily medical practices, and overall health and well-being.

Jani recently completed his two-year fellowship in integrative health at the University of Arizona under the direction of Dr. Andrew Weil. He received his medical education at Gandhi Medical Collage in Bhopal, India, with his residency at North Shore University Hospital in New York. Jani is board certified in internal medicine and has held numerous board positions at Beebe Medical Center. He also lectures widely and has been involved in research clinical trials during the last two decades.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday night through Aug. 28, expert presenters will engage participants in the parish hall of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 211 Mulberry St., Lewes. Fellowship and locally owned King's Ice Cream will follow each presentation. All are invited to attend these free sessions, which are designed for reflection and dialogue.