While on clinical rotations, I helped treat a patient who seemed to be fainting every other day from hypoglycemia.

Ms. K. had been diagnosed with diabetes over a year ago but had only started to have this problem recently.

After learning more about her social history and background, I discovered that she was a practicing Muslim and was fasting because of the holy month of Ramadan.

As a Muslim medical student, I realized providers need to have a baseline familiarity with the practices of various faith traditions.

Religious literacy enables doctors and nurses to better treat a diverse set of patients. Often these needs can be overlooked when the nuances of faith traditions are not understood, or even considered.

Read more: http://religionnews.com/2017/06/21/how-religious-literacy-can-save-lives/