by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

My husband Rob and I traveled to Hawaii in December – our first time! – for Rob to attend a medical conference. While we were there, we had dinner with two other couples, both longtime friends from medical school. 

It was so good to share memories from those years. At one point, Ron S., who started school a year after Rob, said, “I’ll never forget something Rob said one day that changed how I approached medicine.” 

I wondered what Rob had said over thirty-some years ago that had influenced Ron S. so much. 

Then Ron S. said, “Rob told me, ‘I prayed with a patient today.’” Pause. “It had never occurred to me that I could pray with a patient.”

The doctor is in.

This excerpt from our dinner conversation clearly shows the supposed chasm between faith and medicine – how some assume faith and science do not mix.

And yet as we discussed this blog post, Rob shared statistics with me from a variety of surveys indicating patients are open to health care professionals praying with them during both routine office visits, and even more so when facing more serious circumstances. 

During his 38 years of medical patient interactions – from medical school clinical rotations until now as the owner of a busy family practice – Rob has prayed with hundreds of patients. Only two have turned him down when he asked, “Would it be okay if I prayed for you?”

How does all of this relate to writing believable medical fiction? 

There’s tension around faith and medicine in real life. Go ahead and show that in your novel.

Where are your main characters spiritually? When faced with a medical problem, will they turn to God, or will they ignore him? Are they open to God’s direct intervention? Or perhaps just his comfort? Are all their hopes pinned on medical science? Or is their confidence a mixture of both? What about the medical practitioners in your novel – what role does faith play in their lives?

Consider, too, how the medical dilemma in your story affects your hero or heroine’s character arc – their emotional and spiritual development throughout the story. Do they mature in the face of a major illness or some sort of worldwide health threat? Do they become bitter when faced with the unexpected death of a loved one? 

As a novelist writing medical fiction, you will also confront your beliefs about faith and medical science. Are the two mutually exclusive of one another or are they complementary? Did God make the human body according to biological principles that can be discovered just as he made aerial flight in animals a discoverable phenomenon that translated into aeronautics, allowing humans to fly? 

Does relying on modern medicine demonstrate a lack of belief in God’s healing power? How do you feel about the tug of war between what man can do versus what God can do, rather than realizing it doesn’t have to be an “either/or” scenario? Physical ailments are not an indictment of God any more than an aircraft accident means God’s design of aerodynamics should be tossed out. 

Thanks for joining us for this series. We’d love to hear your thoughts about writing medical fiction.

The five-part series “How to Write Believable Medical Fiction” by award-winning author Beth K. Vogt and her husband Robert Vogt, MD, includes:

1. How to Write Believable Medical Fiction Part 1: The Doctor is In
2. How to Write Believable Medical Fiction Part 2: Doing Your Research
3. How to Write Believable Medical Fiction Part 3: It’s Not All About the Drama
4. How to Write Believable Medical Fiction Part 4: Know Your Objective
5. How to Write Believable Medical Fiction Part 5: Faith vs. Science (today’s post)

 

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Unpacking Christmas: A Thatcher Sisters Novella

As Johanna, Jillian, and Payton look forward to celebrating the Christmas holidays with their families, they’re not prepared for an announcement that changes everything they’ve grown to love and cherish.

Their parents are selling their long-time family home. One change seems to lead to another, with Payton and Zach announcing their own decision to move, while Jillian and Geoff tackle the challenge of starting a family. The only ones maintaining the status quo are Johanna and Beckett—but romantic limbo is no place to be. Then their dad’s sudden health crisis spins life further out of control.

This Christmas, Johanna, Jillian, and Payton will laugh and cry together as they realize the true magic of Christmas isn’t found in gifts or decorations, but in the love of family.

Award-winning author Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best is often found behind the door marked “Never.” Beth revisits the Thatcher sisters in her newest novella, Unpacking Christmas: A Thatcher Sisters Novella. This holiday story released in November 2021 and is published by Never Door Press. Readers first met Payton, Jillian, and Johanna in Beth’s award-winning women’s fiction series published by Tyndale House Publishers. The Thatcher Sisters Series includes: Things I Never Told You, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been. Find out about Beth’s other books at bethvogt.com.