From complaint to change: The Christian doctor in the face of conflict

From complaint to change: The Christian doctor in the face of conflict, that was the theme of the 31st meeting of the Evangelical Medical Union (UME) in Madrid on the last weekend of March.

The current health situation in Spain is marked by strikes, a high degree of burn-out among doctors after the pandemic, growing health demands with resources that have not increased. That context is a good breeding ground for complaints.

Miguel Torralba, an internist and pastor of the Water of Life Church in Madrid, gave the plenary sessions, making a study of situations of complaint in the Bible and led us to look at ourselves in the mirror of our own lives: what do we complain about, do we go through the consultation with joy or with nervousness, how do we deal with discontent?

Serving out of complaint is unhelpful to those we serve. The opportunities to complain can also be opportunities to bear good witness and improve our relationships with those around us.

Those reflections led us to remember the Lord, his forgiveness and his joy that are always available to us.

Esteban Rodemann, who serves in several local churches in Madrid and carries out a national Bible teaching ministry, shared the biblical expositions.

He led us to reflect on John 15, where we find an organising God, in whom to trust and in whom to remain faithful to Christ, even when our circumstances change.

Abiding in Him means that we continue to receive His Word, trusting in His help, pleasing Him on a daily basis and committing ourselves with other disciples to follow Him.

Our lives can flourish and bear fruit alongside Him. The fruit of God in our lives is to have a heart full of love for God and others, to live embodying God's life in others and spreading God's life to others.

Carlos González, pastor and intercultural mediator of the Public Health Mediation Service with the Roma population in Madrid, shared a workshop on intercultural mediation and the current situation of the Roma people.

The Roma population has been living in Spain for over five centuries, but faces economic and access to health services inequalities. Their life expectancy is ten years lower than that of the non-Roma population.

Carlos shared his work within the Public Health mediation team, to try to bridge that gap and improve access to health services for this group.

He also shared his knowledge of Roma culture, so that we can improve our treatment of those patients.

The meeting brought together almost 40 professionals in a pleasant atmosphere where we also talked about books, missions in Spain and abroad, without forgetting all the work carried out by GBG, which Jaume Llenas told us about.